Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 253,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,463 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.14% of Moody’s worth $121,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $469.44 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $485.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $480.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.65, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $527.00.

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.