Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Bought by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,258 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $11,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 452,970 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $214,976,000 after buying an additional 67,486 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $4,967,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Moody's by 5.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business'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 directly owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 0.1%

Moody's stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $471.15. 613,071 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 772,899. Moody's Co. has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company has a market capitalization of $84.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $446.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $471.63.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.