Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Increases Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,350 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $34,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,263,000 after buying an additional 2,933 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 674 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 14.1% during the third quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 655 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 2.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $522.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $94.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.74, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $484.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $478.15. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 843 shares of company stock worth $405,455 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $522.62.

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.