Junto Capital Management LP Invests $46.76 Million in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 98,787 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $46,763,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $471.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $84.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $446.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $471.60.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MCO. Mizuho began coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.87.

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.