24,738 Shares in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Bought by Square Wave Partners L.P.

Square Wave Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 24,738 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,710,000. Moody's accounts for about 11.3% of Square Wave Partners L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Texas Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth about $473,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth about $126,000. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth about $1,236,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Moody's by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 175,728 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $83,183,000 after purchasing an additional 38,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Moody's by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of several research reports. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.87.

Insider Activity

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

Moody's Price Performance

MCO stock traded down $1.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $470.19. 363,593 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 768,760. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $452.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $473.04. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The company has a market cap of $84.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.72, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. 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 quarterly earnings results 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. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 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 currently 32.47%.

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.