Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 47,203 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $22,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Haverford Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its stake in Moody’s by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $482.12 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $490.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $482.75. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $86.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.78, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. 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 given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MCO. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $528.77.

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.