Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Has $148,000 Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 380 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 58 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 4,900.0% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in Moody’s by 143.8% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 117 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE MCO opened at $374.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $384.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $368.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $296.45 and a 52 week high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.75.

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.