Woodline Partners LP Makes New $4.43 Million Investment in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,367 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,434,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $988,750,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $290,112,000 after buying an additional 612,200 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Moody's by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $534,255,000 after buying an additional 479,599 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $150,376,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 302,453 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MCO. Bank of America began coverage on Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.87.

Moody's Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $478.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 111,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,078. Moody's Co. has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $453.35 and a 200-day moving average of $473.22. The stock has a market cap of $86.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Research analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.