Amundi Increases Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 73.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 479,599 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.62% of Moody’s worth $534,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $461.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $83.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.99, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $489.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $482.67. 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 twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised 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, StockNews.com lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $528.77.

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.