Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 45,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,507,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Moody’s by 3.2% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 72,043 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.4% in the second 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 worth $643,191,000 after purchasing an additional 33,024 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 72.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,963,000 after purchasing an additional 454,684 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 20.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,011,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,126,000 after purchasing an additional 168,528 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 7.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,188,000 after purchasing an additional 59,121 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $419,965.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,370,620. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael L. West sold 9,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total value of $4,853,648.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 8,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,792. The trade was a 53.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $552.63.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.5%

Moody’s stock opened at $506.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $87.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.35. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $477.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $467.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. Moody’s’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.92 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

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.