Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $416.50 Million Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 877,596 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 397,747 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $416,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Motco grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 9,756.3% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 52.2% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,844,000 after acquiring an additional 12,099 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 68.1% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 52,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,673,000 after acquiring an additional 21,300 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,613,867,000 after buying an additional 119,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,774,000 after buying an additional 2,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Raymond James cut shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $461.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $83.56 billion, a PE ratio of 42.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $475.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $443.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $332.05 and a 52-week high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Investors Services. The Moody’s Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.