PGGM Investments Buys 3,360 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 89.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,132 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,360 shares during the period. PGGM Investments' holdings in Moody's were worth $3,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in Moody's by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody's by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody's by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Moody's Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded down $3.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $450.23. 611,781 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 829,354. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $486.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $481.20. 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 firm has a market cap of $80.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.95, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. Equities analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,390,984.84. The trade was 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 quarter, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $527.00.

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.