Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stock Position Cut by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 542,549 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 32,121 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.30% of Moody's worth $211,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealthsource Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors grew its position in Moody's by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 997 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its position in Moody's by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,015 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Moody's by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $376.13. The company had a trading volume of 718,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 670,299. 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 twelve month low of $296.45 and a twelve month high of $407.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $384.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $371.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.27.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). Moody's had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 38.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MCO. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Moody's from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.