First Manhattan CO. LLC. Cuts Stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lowered its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,757 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,227 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned approximately 0.05% of Moody's worth $46,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Carson Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,327,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Moody's by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MCO traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $471.15. The stock had a trading volume of 613,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 772,899. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $84.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $446.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $471.63. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Equities research analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.87.

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.