Sepio Capital LP Trims Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Sepio Capital LP lessened its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Skopos Labs Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $407,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 28,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,225,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Hoylecohen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $438,000. HCR Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $234,000. Finally, Team Hewins LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $712,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Moody’s stock traded up $3.58 on Friday, reaching $410.60. 498,500 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 749,095. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $417.75. The company has a market cap of $74.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $390.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $382.98.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody’s had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.50.

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.