24,738 Shares in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Acquired by Square Wave Partners L.P.

Square Wave Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 24,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,710,000. Moody’s comprises approximately 11.3% of Square Wave Partners L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at $29,092,537.92. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $489.15 on Monday. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The stock has a market cap of $88.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $449.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $472.55.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders 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 (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.87.

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.