Hhlr Advisors LTD. Raises Stock Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 198.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,477 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $2,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.87.

Moody's Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Moody's stock traded up $13.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $465.35. The company had a trading volume of 733,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 773,315. The company has a 50 day moving average of $450.14 and a 200 day moving average of $472.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. Moody's Co. has a 52-week low of $377.90 and a 52-week high of $531.93. 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 issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

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

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.