Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $5.32 Million Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 397 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Carson Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $777,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,092,537.92. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCO. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho began 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.87.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.1 %

MCO stock opened at $471.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $84.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $446.66 and its 200-day moving average is $471.58.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 32.47%.

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.