Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Takes $102.41 Million Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 216,349 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $102,413,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.12% of Moody's at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Moody's by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody's Stock Down 0.5%

Moody's stock traded down $2.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $479.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,422,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,611. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.21 billion, a PE ratio of 42.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $453.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $473.27. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

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.