London & Capital Asset Management Ltd Trims Stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

London & Capital Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,748 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,726 shares during the quarter. Moody's accounts for approximately 1.8% of London & Capital Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. London & Capital Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Moody's were worth $21,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Moody's by 87.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Barclays raised Moody's from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Moody's from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Moody's from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Moody's from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.75.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,547 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,099 shares in the company, valued at $20,368,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $3.62 during trading on Monday, reaching $373.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 759,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,222. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $296.45 and a 12-month high of $407.62. The company has a market capitalization of $68.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $386.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $367.87.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 10.67 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody's's payout ratio is 38.95%.

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.