Akre Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Akre Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,078,927 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 283,953 shares during the quarter. Moody's comprises approximately 12.6% of Akre Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Akre Capital Management LLC owned about 1.70% of Moody's worth $1,457,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

NYSE:MCO traded up $2.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $432.56. The stock had a trading volume of 504,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 775,774. 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 one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $460.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $473.64.

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

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MCO. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their target price on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $520.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,321,046.80. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,392 shares of company stock worth $659,535 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Company 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.