Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Moody’s by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 15,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,100,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $372,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 946 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.75.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $376.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.64 billion, a PE ratio of 43.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.27. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $296.45 and a 52-week high of $407.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $384.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $371.72.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.95%.

Moody’s Company 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.