Nomura Holdings Inc. Purchases New Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,429,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 180.1% in the 4th quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $818,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in Moody’s by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 6,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,252,000 after buying an additional 1,168 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $122,000. Napa Wealth Management acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $998,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 137.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,937 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,585,000 after buying an additional 30,078 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $489.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $449.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $472.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.00 billion, a PE ratio of 43.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The business 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MCO. StockNews.com lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.