XTX Topco Ltd Makes New Investment in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 933 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $988,750,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Moody's by 92,060.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $290,112,000 after buying an additional 612,200 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Moody's by 73.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $534,255,000 after buying an additional 479,599 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in shares of Moody's by 510.8% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 422,624 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $200,058,000 after acquiring an additional 353,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $150,376,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $439.02. The company had a trading volume of 427,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 780,271. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $456.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. 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 Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MCO. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of 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 reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.