Aquatic Capital Management LLC Has $7.44 Million Stock Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 65.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,710 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 29,530 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $7,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,956,684,000 after buying an additional 63,820 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $1,738,645,000 after purchasing an additional 68,627 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $988,750,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,537,331 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $727,726,000 after purchasing an additional 53,504 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 73.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $534,255,000 after buying an additional 479,599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $438.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $454.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $473.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.95 billion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America began coverage on Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,392 shares of company stock worth $659,535 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.

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