Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 29.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter worth approximately $153,532,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 16,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,942 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at about $244,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Moody’s by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 79,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,206,000 after acquiring an additional 11,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walter Public Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 37,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,479,000 after purchasing an additional 7,250 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $380.56 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $384.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $372.82. The firm has a market cap of $69.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.26. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $296.45 and a 1-year high of $407.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody’s had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upgraded Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $398.50.

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.