Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stock Position Reduced by Windacre Partnership LLC

Windacre Partnership LLC reduced its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,010,595 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 165,405 shares during the quarter. Moody's comprises about 7.0% of Windacre Partnership LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Windacre Partnership LLC owned about 0.56% of Moody's worth $478,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,212 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Moody's by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,020 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 907 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 81.2% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,720 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,761,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares during the period. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock traded down $14.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $472.70. The company had a trading volume of 624,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,438. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $451.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $472.90. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.04 billion, a PE ratio of 41.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. 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 (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.