Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Walter Public Investments Inc.

Walter Public Investments Inc. cut its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,333 shares during the period. Moody’s makes up 3.5% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $19,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $73,000. National Pension Service grew its stake in Moody’s by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 415,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $196,579,000 after purchasing an additional 70,599 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 4,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 393.0% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 277,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $131,142,000 after purchasing an additional 220,845 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $528.77.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $498.05 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $488.22 and a 200-day moving average of $481.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $89.65 billion, a PE ratio of 44.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.