Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Has $9.22 Million Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,222 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $9,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bamco Inc. NY increased its position in Moody’s by 57.0% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 32,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,683,000 after acquiring an additional 11,711 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.9% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,750,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $130,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Moody’s by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cloverfields Capital Group LP lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP now owns 13,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,218,000 after buying an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $450.16 on Tuesday. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $298.86 and a twelve month high of $458.24. The stock has a market cap of $81.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $423.50 and its 200-day moving average is $400.00.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $448.50.

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.