Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Holdings Lowered by Centiva Capital LP

Centiva Capital LP cut its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 40.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,578 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,065 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Moody’s by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Moody’s by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,981,000 after purchasing an additional 4,544 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Moody’s by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,861,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 994,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $470,712,000 after buying an additional 31,780 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $471.85 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $84.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $446.86 and its 200-day moving average is $471.56.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Equities 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 announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.