Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,009 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,106 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $25,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IMS Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 4,310 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Wealthsource Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 997 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 4.0% in the third quarter. American National Bank now owns 866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded up $3.61 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $396.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 698,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,409. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $387.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $366.00. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $290.98 and a 12-month high of $407.62. The company has a market cap of $72.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.37, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.50, for a total transaction of $958,945.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,368,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Moody's from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Moody's from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Moody's from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.75.

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.