Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $98.27 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,156 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.11% of Moody’s worth $98,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCO. UBS Group upped their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $527.00.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $469.48 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $84.45 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $485.79 and a 200-day moving average of $480.31. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.