Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Bought by Quadrant Capital Group LLC

Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $401.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $72.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $482.15 and its 200-day moving average is $478.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS 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. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS 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 given 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 yield of 0.94%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,258 shares of company stock worth $610,936 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective 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. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.43.

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.