Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Takes Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co purchased a new position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,788,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MCO stock traded down $1.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $456.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 674,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,154. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week high of $462.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $424.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $400.55. The company has a market cap of $83.13 billion, a PE ratio of 49.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.28.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, insider Richard G. Steele 1,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCO. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $448.50.

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.