Inkwell Capital LLC Invests $3.29 Million in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Inkwell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,959 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,294,000. Moody's comprises approximately 3.5% of Inkwell Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $988,750,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 92,060.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $290,112,000 after acquiring an additional 612,200 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Moody's by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $534,255,000 after acquiring an additional 479,599 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,708,851,000 after purchasing an additional 416,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 510.8% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 422,624 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $200,058,000 after purchasing an additional 353,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

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Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $2.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $471.66. 638,111 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 744,082. Moody's Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $84.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.85, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $485.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $479.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

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

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody's in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $527.00.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.