Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,576 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,288 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $23,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,162 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,124,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 48,253 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,842,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Natixis raised its position in shares of Moody's by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 61,807 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,258,000 after acquiring an additional 26,766 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 7,020 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in Moody's by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 13,916 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,587,000 after purchasing an additional 3,331 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Mizuho started coverage on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $32,321,046.80. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Down 0.2 %

MCO traded down $0.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $438.86. 691,288 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 780,280. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $456.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.22. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

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.