4,879 Shares in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Purchased by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,879 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,310,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Moody's by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Moody's by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in Moody's by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Moody's Price Performance

NYSE MCO traded up $2.88 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $471.66. 636,022 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 744,081. 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 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $485.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $479.86. The company has a market capitalization of $84.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCO. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody's in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Moody's from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $527.00.

About Moody's

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.