Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Man Group plc

Man Group plc lifted its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 182,630 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 66,063 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.10% of Moody's worth $86,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,466 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,967,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 33,788 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 871 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $153,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $1,290,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. Barclays decreased their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.87.

Moody's Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of MCO traded up $1.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $489.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 504,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 772,329. The company has a fifty day moving average of $449.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $472.33. Moody's Co. has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a market cap of $88.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.