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

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

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $988,750,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 92,060.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $290,112,000 after buying an additional 612,200 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in Moody's by 73.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $534,255,000 after purchasing an additional 479,599 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its stake in Moody's by 510.8% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 422,624 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $200,058,000 after purchasing an additional 353,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at about $150,376,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $490.31. 95,793 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 769,262. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $449.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $472.55. The stock has a market cap of $88.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.43, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. On average, analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.