Olstein Capital Management L.P. Decreases Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. lowered its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 16,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,556,000 after buying an additional 2,942 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Moody’s by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,689 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,389,000 after purchasing an additional 2,933 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in Moody’s by 392.6% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 24,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,634,000 after buying an additional 19,660 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 679,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $265,285,000 after buying an additional 14,344 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,769,000 after acquiring an additional 24,335 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.0 %

MCO stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $425.99. 195,497 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 712,682. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $428.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.79 billion, a PE ratio of 46.48, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $404.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $392.13.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays raised Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Moody’s from $424.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $350.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $403.00.

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.