Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 327,891 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,247 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.18% of Moody’s worth $155,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $36,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MCO. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday. Citigroup began coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $522.62.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MCO opened at $522.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $484.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $478.65. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The stock has a market cap of $94.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,601,631.48. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 843 shares of company stock valued at $405,455. Company insiders own 0.07% 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.