Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Cuts Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 393,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,104 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $153,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthsource Partners LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its position in Moody’s by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.4% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $373.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market cap of $68.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $386.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $368.26. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $296.45 and a twelve month high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). Moody’s had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.67 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 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.75.

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.