Rathbones Group PLC Buys 855 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,794 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $3,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 44,050 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,868,000 after purchasing an additional 3,968 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. Unigestion Holding SA grew its holdings in Moody's by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,453,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 188.9% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,478 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,593,000 after buying an additional 3,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oribel Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $14,911,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Up 1.3 %

MCO stock traded up $5.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $428.55. 883,782 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 772,536. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $531.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.09 billion, a PE ratio of 38.03, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $471.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $475.73.

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

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. Mizuho initiated coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $524.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $30,601,631.48. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,258 shares of company stock valued at $610,936. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.