Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Wick Capital Partners LLC

Wick Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2,141.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,432 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,922 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up about 0.9% of Wick Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Wick Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Moody’s by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Moody’s by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,981,000 after acquiring an additional 4,544 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Moody’s by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 994,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $470,712,000 after purchasing an additional 31,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $447.43 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $452.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $472.60. The company has a market cap of $80.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 32.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,321,046.80. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,392 shares of company stock worth $659,535 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.87.

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.