Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX Takes Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX purchased a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 535 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Moody's by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Moody's by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,981,000 after buying an additional 4,544 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Moody's by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,718 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,861,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Moody's by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 994,384 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $470,712,000 after buying an additional 31,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMJ Financial Wealth Management purchased a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $312,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

MCO traded down $2.72 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $478.52. 663,067 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 769,673. The company's 50-day moving average is $452.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.19. The company has a market cap of $86.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.46, a P/E/G 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93.

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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Research analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho started coverage on Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $520.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

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

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.