AXQ Capital LP Acquires 1,366 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

AXQ Capital LP grew its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 208.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,021 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in Moody's were worth $957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Moody's by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE MCO traded down $7.69 on Wednesday, reaching $469.55. The company had a trading volume of 649,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 708,098. The company's fifty day moving average is $486.09 and its 200-day moving average is $480.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.66, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup began coverage on Moody's in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Moody's from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $527.00.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company 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.