Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 302,453 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $841,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MCO shares. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.87.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $440.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $453.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $472.78.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Company 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.