Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 20,463 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 253,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,463 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $121,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its holdings in Moody’s by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $469.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $84.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $485.86 and a 200-day moving average of $480.18. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week 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.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $527.00.

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.