Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 388 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $10,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $425,827,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 277.8% in the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,544,160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $488,217,000 after buying an additional 1,135,463 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,994,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,947,000 after buying an additional 914,530 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $153,532,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,510,986 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $477,728,000 after purchasing an additional 429,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $377.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $386.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $367.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.83 billion, a PE ratio of 43.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $296.45 and a 1 year high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,547 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.50, for a total value of $958,945.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,099 shares in the company, valued at $20,368,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.75.

Moody’s Profile

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.