Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 114,558 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 61.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 114,558 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $33,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted 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 acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,981,000 after purchasing an additional 4,544 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.6% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, AMJ Financial Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $312,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $486.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $451.06 and a 200-day moving average of $472.90. The stock has a market cap of $87.54 billion, a PE ratio of 43.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. 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 fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.87.

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.