Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,329 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,800 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.07% of Moody's worth $57,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at about $988,750,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 92,060.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 612,200 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Moody's by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $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% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 422,624 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $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 approximately $150,376,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,601,631.48. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America began coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho started coverage on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.87.

Moody's Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:MCO traded up $9.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $440.48. The company had a trading volume of 186,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 901,055. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $458.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.35. Moody's Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $79.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

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.