Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys New Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,036,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 272.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $446.67 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $486.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $481.44. The company has a market capitalization of $80.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.63, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target for the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $527.00.

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.