24,000 Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Hikari Power Ltd

Hikari Power Ltd lessened its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 74.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 24,000 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises 0.9% of Hikari Power Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Hikari Power Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Moody’s by 3.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,024,874,000 after buying an additional 72,043 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,420,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $643,191,000 after buying an additional 33,024 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,963,000 after buying an additional 454,684 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,011,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,126,000 after buying an additional 168,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,188,000 after buying an additional 59,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $503.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The company has a market cap of $86.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.67, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $477.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $467.33.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.11%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $419,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,370,620. This represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jason Phillips sold 195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.23, for a total transaction of $99,299.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,894 shares in the company, valued at $964,481.62. This represents a 9.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 11,249 shares of company stock valued at $5,466,686 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $505.00 target price (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $552.63.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.