Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,975 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,881 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $26,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Moody's by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock traded up $3.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $492.15. The company had a trading volume of 551,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,035. The company has a market capitalization of $88.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $449.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $472.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.87.

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.