Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Stock Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 471,245 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 16,167 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.26% of Moody's worth $223,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 73,618 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,849,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in Moody's by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,859 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,774,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Moody's by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,041 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,753,000 after acquiring an additional 4,766 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in Moody's by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 50,576 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $23,941,000 after purchasing an additional 7,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,162 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,124,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MCO stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $438.86. 691,289 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 779,810. The stock has a market cap of $78.95 billion, a PE ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody's Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $456.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $473.22.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Moody's's payout ratio is 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.