Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd Has $3.19 Million Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 56.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,421 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE MCO opened at $498.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $488.22 and a 200-day moving average of $481.79. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 over the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.