Raiffeisen Bank International AG Invests $5.54 Million in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,694 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,537,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,092,537.92. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.0%

MCO stock opened at $488.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $448.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $472.13. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The company has a market capitalization of $87.87 billion, a PE ratio of 43.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 32.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of 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 reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.87.

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.