Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 934 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $8,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 87.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 128 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.75.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.3 %

MCO stock opened at $381.21 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $296.45 and a 12-month high of $407.62. The stock has a market cap of $69.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $384.13 and its 200 day moving average is $370.94.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

Moody’s Company 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.