National Bank of Canada FI Sells 71,786 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 38.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 71,786 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.06% of Moody’s worth $43,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 87.7% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock traded up $4.93 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $385.49. 254,699 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 730,682. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $407.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $383.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $374.01. The firm has a market cap of $70.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.55, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. The business’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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 shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.50.

Moody’s 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.