Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Holdings Lifted by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,701 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.06% of Moody’s worth $48,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $527.00.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $461.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $485.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $480.00. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.95 billion, a PE ratio of 40.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The company 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.