Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Holdings Reduced by Private Trust Co. NA

Private Trust Co. NA lowered its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $601,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,395 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 6,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 92,060.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,112,000 after purchasing an additional 612,200 shares during the period. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its position in Moody’s by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 65,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,040,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $501.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $490.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $482.65. 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 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $528.77.

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.