Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Takes Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 14,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,700,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 52,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,673,000 after purchasing an additional 21,300 shares in the last quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 39.7% during the first quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 895,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,781,000 after buying an additional 254,178 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 9.2% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 2,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $941,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth about $506,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded up $2.73 on Friday, reaching $445.98. 786,402 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 542,015. The firm has a market cap of $81.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.28. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $451.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $413.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $394.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Moody’s from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Moody’s from $350.00 to $374.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $420.27.

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.