Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Buys New Stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 741 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Moody's by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,956,684,000 after purchasing an additional 63,820 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,799 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,738,645,000 after buying an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at $988,750,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,537,331 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $727,726,000 after acquiring an additional 53,504 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Moody's by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $534,255,000 after purchasing an additional 479,599 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Price Performance

NYSE:MCO traded up $10.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $440.90. 212,300 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 901,524. Moody's Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock's 50-day moving average is $458.17 and its 200-day moving average is $473.35. The firm has a market cap of $79.31 billion, a PE ratio of 39.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MCO. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.87.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,392 shares of company stock worth $659,535 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.