Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $23.65 Million Investment in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 49,902 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $23,646,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Moody's by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its position in Moody's by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

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Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock traded down $1.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $421.45. 331,684 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 769,441. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $472.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $476.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Mizuho started coverage on Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $524.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total transaction of $138,932.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,601,631.48. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,258 shares of company stock valued at $610,936 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.