Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 32,275.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,448 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 220,764 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Moody's worth $86,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 4,900.0% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 143.8% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 117 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,547 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.50, for a total value of $958,945.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,368,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Moody's from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Moody's from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Moody's from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Moody's from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $397.75.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $392.47. 619,741 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 618,612. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $387.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $365.49. The company has a market capitalization of $71.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.96, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.27. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $290.98 and a 12-month high of $407.62.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. Moody's's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. Analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

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.