Capital Fund Management S.A. Makes New Investment in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 23,654 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,197,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $497,000. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 285.7% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 107,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,180,000 after acquiring an additional 79,689 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 3,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 10,360 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Moody’s by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 98,880 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,844,000 after purchasing an additional 21,030 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $428.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $471.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $475.72. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,258 shares of company stock worth $610,936 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $524.86.

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.