Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Makes New $1.56 Million Investment in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,300 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,562,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 427,425 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $202,335,000 after acquiring an additional 124,012 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth $46,763,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth $3,314,000. Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 25,258 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,956,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Moody's by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,008,844 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $477,556,000 after acquiring an additional 29,895 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.87.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $489.15. The company had a trading volume of 504,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 772,329. The firm has a market cap of $88.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.40, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $449.08 and a 200-day moving average of $472.33. Moody's Co. has a 12 month low of $378.71 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

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.