Moore Capital Management LP Purchases 20,630 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Moore Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2,046.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,638 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,630 shares during the quarter. Moore Capital Management LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $10,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,562,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 427,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $202,335,000 after purchasing an additional 124,012 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $46,763,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,314,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its position in Moody’s by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 25,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,956,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.87.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $471.15 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $446.66 and a 200 day moving average of $471.63. 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 company has a market capitalization of $84.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.81, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 32.47%.

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.