Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Raises Stock Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,130 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 644 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $5,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Up 3.0 %

Moody's stock traded up $13.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $442.90. 329,053 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 775,057. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $460.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.64. The company has a market capitalization of $79.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. Moody's Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given 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 0.85%. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.20.

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.