Raub Brock Capital Management LP Takes Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Raub Brock Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 34,133 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,896,000. Moody's accounts for about 3.5% of Raub Brock Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $988,750,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 55,808.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 802,850 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $373,879,000 after acquiring an additional 801,414 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Moody's by 92,060.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $290,112,000 after purchasing an additional 612,200 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Moody's by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $534,255,000 after purchasing an additional 479,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,376,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $519.40.

Moody's Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of MCO traded down $9.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $471.57. 471,871 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 762,284. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $461.41 and a 200-day moving average of $473.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. On average, research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

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.