Czech National Bank Has $15.99 Million Stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,788 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Moody's were worth $15,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,466 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,967,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in Moody's by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida bought a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $415,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,095 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,390,984.84. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,243 shares of company stock worth $1,045,326. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $4.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $462.55. 393,142 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 597,804. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $479.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $470.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody's Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $503.95. The firm has a market cap of $83.81 billion, a PE ratio of 42.24, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James downgraded Moody's from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup began coverage on Moody's in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Moody's from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.14.

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.