Everence Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Everence Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 24.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,375 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $1,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Moody's by 206.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 233 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,191,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Moody's by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 593,477 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $284,537,000 after buying an additional 19,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 538.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 55,544 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,361,000 after acquiring an additional 46,843 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $6.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $479.15. The company had a trading volume of 412,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,150. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $503.95.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 owns 1,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,243 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,326 in the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCO. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on Moody's in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.14.

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.