Dock Street Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Dock Street Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for approximately 1.6% of Dock Street Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Dock Street Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $10,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $425,827,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,135,463 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,994,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,112,947,000 after buying an additional 914,530 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $153,532,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,510,986 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $477,728,000 after buying an additional 429,473 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:MCO traded up $1.96 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $377.37. 146,134 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 711,926. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $385.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $368.69. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $296.45 and a fifty-two week high of $407.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The company has a market capitalization of $68.87 billion, a PE ratio of 43.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.27.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.68 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.