Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Position Boosted by Flossbach Von Storch SE

Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,558 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned about 0.11% of Moody's worth $95,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO stock traded down $12.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $499.62. 1,348,207 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 754,611. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $486.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $480.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.17%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 in the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on MCO shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Moody's in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $528.77.

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.