Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Has $3.93 Million Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 970 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $988,750,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 92,060.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $290,112,000 after buying an additional 612,200 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 73.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $534,255,000 after buying an additional 479,599 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,708,851,000 after buying an additional 416,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in Moody’s by 510.8% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 422,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $200,058,000 after acquiring an additional 353,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $471.66 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $484.78 and its 200-day moving average is $479.80. The stock has a market cap of $84.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. 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.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. 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. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 33.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $30,601,631.48. This 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 hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,258 shares of company stock valued at $610,936. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $527.00.

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.