Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Cantillon Capital Management LLC

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 520,670 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,789 shares during the quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned about 0.28% of Moody's worth $203,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Wealthspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $591,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $245,000. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Moody's by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 294,059 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $114,848,000 after acquiring an additional 6,218 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Moody's by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,117 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $350,769,000 after acquiring an additional 24,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC raised its holdings in Moody's by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 43,552 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,010,000 after acquiring an additional 4,427 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $400.35. The stock had a trading volume of 650,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 732,363. The stock has a market cap of $73.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $298.86 and a 12-month high of $407.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $385.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $375.47.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody's had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Moody's's payout ratio is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued 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 shares of Moody's from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $400.50.

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.

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