Keybank National Association OH Has $4.41 Million Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Keybank National Association OH raised its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,544,000 after purchasing an additional 3,287 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 35,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth $1,434,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $482.12 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $86.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $490.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $482.75.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCO. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $528.77.

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.