CenterBook Partners LP Decreases Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

CenterBook Partners LP decreased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 751 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 164.1% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,676 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 6.2% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $304,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,087,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 11.7% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,097,000 after buying an additional 1,782 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,258 shares of company stock worth $610,936 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup initiated 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. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.43.

Moody’s Trading Up 10.7 %

Shares of MCO opened at $439.22 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $473.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $476.45. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.97, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

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.