USS Investment Management Ltd Reduces Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,888 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $14,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $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 raised its stake in Moody’s by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.87.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $486.60 on Wednesday. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $451.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $472.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.18, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.92 billion during 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 forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.