Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Acquired by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,633 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $107,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Moody’s by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Moody’s by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,981,000 after purchasing an additional 4,544 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Moody’s by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 994,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $470,712,000 after purchasing an additional 31,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after buying an additional 3,510 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $468.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a PE ratio of 41.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $447.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $471.66. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. Analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Moody’s Company 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.