Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 679,237 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,344 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.37% of Moody's worth $265,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth about $153,532,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 39.7% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,510,986 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $477,728,000 after buying an additional 429,473 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 32,275.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 221,448 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $86,489,000 after buying an additional 220,764 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Moody's by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 720,091 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $227,671,000 after acquiring an additional 206,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,301,253 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,359,927,000 after purchasing an additional 205,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.
Moody's Price Performance
NYSE:MCO traded up $4.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $402.09. 749,695 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 728,483. The company has a market cap of $73.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.26. Moody's Co. has a 1 year low of $298.86 and a 1 year high of $407.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $385.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $377.66. 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 (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. Moody's's revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 10.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Moody's Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Moody's from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Moody's from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Moody's from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Moody's from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $400.50.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Moody's
About Moody's
(
Free Report)
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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