Corient Private Wealth LLC Acquires 52,073 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 216.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,124 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 52,073 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $29,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 131.1% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,663 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,158,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the third quarter valued at approximately $374,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Moody's during the third quarter valued at approximately $181,000. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in Moody's by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 26,237 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,295,000 after acquiring an additional 11,345 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $8.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $407.02. The company had a trading volume of 707,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,080. The stock has a market cap of $74.32 billion, a PE ratio of 44.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.26. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $417.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $389.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $382.12. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody's had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 10.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Moody's's payout ratio is 37.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Moody's from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Moody's from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Moody's from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $400.50.

About Moody's

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.