Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,785 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,942 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $6,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 65,351 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,523,000 after purchasing an additional 5,016 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Moody's by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 3,114 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $374.67. 816,390 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 721,970. The company's 50 day moving average price is $384.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $368.73. Moody's Co. has a 12 month low of $296.45 and a 12 month high of $407.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The company's revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Moody's from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised shares of Moody's from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Moody's from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.75.

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.