Dark Forest Capital Management LP Has $2.09 Million Stock Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 209.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,404 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,982 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Moody's were worth $2,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 452,970 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $214,976,000 after acquiring an additional 67,486 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in Moody's by 210.4% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 15,612 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,409,000 after purchasing an additional 10,582 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,298 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,989,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 29.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,399 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,562,000 after buying an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 538.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,392 shares of company stock worth $659,535. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $438.86. 691,289 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 779,810. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $78.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $454.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $473.00. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.87.

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.