Simplicity Wealth LLC Acquires New Shares in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,474 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,365,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Moody's by 7.8% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,843 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Moody's in the third quarter valued at about $2,474,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Moody's by 0.9% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 301,504 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $95,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 1.6% in the third quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 39,125 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,370,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in Moody's in the third quarter valued at about $1,854,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $412.95. The company had a trading volume of 483,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,259. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $415.27. The firm has a market cap of $75.40 billion, a PE ratio of 45.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.26. The business's 50 day moving average price is $388.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $381.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody's had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. Moody's's revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 10.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Moody's from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Moody's from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Moody's from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Moody's from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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