Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 75.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,491 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 22,611 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Moody's were worth $3,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Moody's stock traded down $7.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $461.09. 535,573 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 744,111. The stock has a market cap of $82.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. Moody's Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The firm's 50 day moving average is $485.56 and its 200 day moving average is $480.00.

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Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho began coverage on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $527.00.

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.