Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 44,549 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 79.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,414 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 44,549 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 4,900.0% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 87.7% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $374.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market cap of $68.38 billion, a PE ratio of 42.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $296.45 and a 12-month high of $407.62. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $384.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $369.13.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note 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 for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.75.

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.