HUB Investment Partners LLC Invests $394,000 in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

HUB Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 832 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Moody’s by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,981,000 after buying an additional 4,544 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,861,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 62,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,858,000 after acquiring an additional 6,340 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of MCO opened at $459.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $531.93. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $485.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $480.45.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $527.00.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.