Sepio Capital LP Lowers Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Sepio Capital LP decreased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $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 Down 9.2 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $401.74 on Monday. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $482.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $478.89. The stock has a market capitalization 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.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the 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 directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,258 shares of company stock valued at $610,936 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.