Lindbrook Capital LLC Has $369,000 Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 34.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 946 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Wealthsource Partners LLC grew its position 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 valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 2.0% during the third quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors raised its position in Moody’s by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% during the 4th 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 during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $374.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $296.45 and a 1-year high of $407.62. The company has a market cap of $68.38 billion, a PE ratio of 42.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $384.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $369.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid 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 yield of 0.91%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 38.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCO. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody’s 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.