Cibc World Markets Corp Has $11.82 Million Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Cibc World Markets Corp trimmed its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 47.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 22,786 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $11,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 49 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MCO. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $527.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $453.54 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $486.22 and its 200-day moving average is $481.20. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $81.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. 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%.

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.