Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Invests $9.39 Million in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,831 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,387,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody's by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,953 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC increased its position in Moody's by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 595 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 105,415 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $49,900,000 after buying an additional 1,028 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Down 0.2 %

Moody's stock opened at $438.86 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $78.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $454.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $473.00. Moody's Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,392 shares of company stock worth $659,535. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.87.

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.

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