Summitry LLC Raises Stock Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Summitry LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 74,161 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the quarter. Moody's makes up 1.7% of Summitry LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Summitry LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $35,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at $273,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at about $210,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,082 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $19,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 722 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

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Moody's Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE MCO traded down $7.89 on Friday, reaching $461.09. The stock had a trading volume of 535,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 744,111. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $485.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $480.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $527.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.