Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by APG Asset Management N.V.

APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 285.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,582 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 79,689 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned approximately 0.06% of Moody's worth $49,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Moody's by 101.9% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Moody's stock traded up $8.62 on Monday, reaching $437.05. 140,739 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 770,089. The company has a market cap of $78.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $471.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $475.73. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93.

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

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCO. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Moody's from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody's in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $524.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,258 shares of company stock worth $610,936. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by 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.