Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 54.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,318 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,792 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $3,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $988,750,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 92,060.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $290,112,000 after purchasing an additional 612,200 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 73.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $534,255,000 after purchasing an additional 479,599 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 510.8% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 422,624 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $200,058,000 after purchasing an additional 353,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $150,376,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $438.86 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $454.91 and a 200-day moving average of $473.03. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market cap of $78.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.47%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports 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. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.87.

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.

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