Benchstone Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 77,383 Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Benchstone Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 77,383 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $36,631,000. Moody's accounts for approximately 3.8% of Benchstone Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Allworth Financial LP increased its position 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 raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,544 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 994,384 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $470,712,000 after buying an additional 31,780 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,777,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $5.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $468.65. 827,699 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 771,367. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $448.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $471.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a PE ratio of 41.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The firm 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price 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. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.87.

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.