Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Choate Investment Advisors

Choate Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Van Strum & Towne Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 4,750 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 12,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,784,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $317,000. PGGM Investments raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 89.1% during the 4th quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 7,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 33,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,071,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $446.67 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $481.41. The company has a market capitalization of $80.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.63, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. 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 fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $527.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Company 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.