Capital Analysts LLC Lowers Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Capital Analysts LLC lessened its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Markel Corp raised its holdings in Moody’s by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 212,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,078,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 30,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,457,000 after buying an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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 upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.75.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $370.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $385.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $368.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $296.45 and a fifty-two week 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.95%.

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.