TFR Capital LLC. Acquires New Stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,704 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,753,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in Moody's by 561.5% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 41,179 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $19,493,000 after buying an additional 34,954 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 16,562 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,840,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,413,000. Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Moody's by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd now owns 9,491 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,493,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded down $2.45 on Friday, hitting $479.19. 1,422,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 771,611. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $453.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $473.27. The company has a market cap of $86.21 billion, a PE ratio of 42.52, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $520.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction 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 $29,092,537.92. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's 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.