Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Bought by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,384 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,961 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Moody's were worth $14,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $988,750,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 92,060.2% in 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 buying an additional 612,200 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Moody's by 73.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $534,255,000 after buying an additional 479,599 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $150,376,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Moody's by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $841,050,000 after buying an additional 302,453 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock traded down $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $470.19. The stock had a trading volume of 363,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,846. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $84.59 billion, a PE ratio of 41.72, 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $452.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $473.13.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Sell-side 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. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.87.

Moody's Company 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.