Wick Capital Partners LLC Has $5.41 Million Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Wick Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2,141.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,432 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,922 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for about 0.9% of Wick Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Wick Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,285,000. 11 Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. 11 Capital Partners LP now owns 23,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,093,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. raised its position in Moody’s by 198.1% in the fourth quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 4,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $841,050,000 after purchasing an additional 302,453 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.7 %

MCO opened at $447.43 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $452.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $472.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.70, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. 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) last released its 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. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.87.

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.