DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Boosts Stock Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1,160.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 580 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings in Moody's were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,466 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,967,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Moody's by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 33,788 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,994,000 after buying an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 871 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $153,000. Finally, Threadgill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.87.

Moody's Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of Moody's stock opened at $487.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $87.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Co. has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $446.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $471.81. 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 released its 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 company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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