OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Buys 1,168 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,869 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Moody's were worth $3,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,000. Napa Wealth Management acquired a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $998,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Moody's by 137.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,937 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $24,585,000 after buying an additional 30,078 shares during the last quarter. Moore Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2,046.6% in the fourth quarter. Moore Capital Management LP now owns 21,638 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,243,000 after buying an additional 20,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at $1,562,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Up 0.4%

MCO traded up $1.82 on Friday, reaching $489.15. 504,501 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 771,917. The company has a market cap of $88.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.40, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $449.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $472.42. Moody's Co. has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. 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 Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,092,537.92. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho began coverage on Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.87.

About Moody's

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.