Raub Brock Capital Management LP Takes $15.90 Million Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Raub Brock Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 34,133 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,896,000. Moody's comprises about 3.5% of Raub Brock Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Moody's by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,956,684,000 after purchasing an additional 63,820 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,799 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,738,645,000 after acquiring an additional 68,627 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $988,750,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in 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. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Moody's by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,590,679 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $752,980,000 after acquiring an additional 220,681 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MCO. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $519.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $5.92 on Tuesday, hitting $471.00. The stock had a trading volume of 416,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 761,315. The stock has a market cap of $84.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39. 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 twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The business's 50 day moving average is $463.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $472.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

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.