Quantbot Technologies LP Cuts Stock Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Quantbot Technologies LP cut its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,874 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,571 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Moody's were worth $5,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Moody's by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Up 2.3 %

MCO traded up $10.15 on Wednesday, reaching $460.25. 1,004,550 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 705,450. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market cap of $82.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $485.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $480.94. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $531.93.

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Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MCO. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lifted 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $527.00.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.