Whitebark Investors LP Makes New Investment in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Whitebark Investors LP bought a new stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,527 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,036,000. Moody's accounts for approximately 1.9% of Whitebark Investors LP's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Moody's by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,020 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 81.2% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,720 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,761,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $230,000. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,181 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,506,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,180 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

MCO opened at $492.15 on Tuesday. Moody's Co. has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $450.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $472.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.54 billion, a PE ratio of 43.67, a P/E/G 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 results 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 net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's 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.

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