Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $332.59 Million Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 702,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 101,002 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.39% of Moody’s worth $332,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Carson Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $479.13 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $86.20 billion, a PE ratio of 42.51, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $447.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $471.95.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $32,321,046.80. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered 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 note on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.87.

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.