Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,446,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 629,175 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.80% of Moody’s worth $684,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Moody’s by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE MCO opened at $471.66 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $484.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $479.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $84.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total transaction of $138,932.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $30,601,631.48. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,258 shares of company stock worth $610,936. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $527.00.

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.