CenterBook Partners LP Sells 751 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

CenterBook Partners LP cut its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,016 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 751 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in Moody's were worth $2,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Moody's by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Moody's by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,981,000 after purchasing an additional 4,544 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Moody's by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,718 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,861,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Moody's by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 62,913 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,858,000 after buying an additional 6,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,777,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

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Moody's Stock Performance

MCO stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $438.32. 363,914 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 770,831. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $470.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $475.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,092,537.92. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,258 shares of company stock valued at $610,936. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MCO. Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $524.86.

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.