Rhumbline Advisers Buys 4,725 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 332,616 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,725 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.18% of Moody's worth $154,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $2,547,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,433 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,509,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,667 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,209,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5,967.4% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,218 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,470,000 after buying an additional 5,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody's by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 7,985 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,780,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE MCO traded up $2.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $487.68. 511,436 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 764,477. The company's 50-day moving average is $455.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93. The company has a market capitalization of $87.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 32.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $519.40.

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.