Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Takes Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,089,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,290,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE MCO opened at $479.13 on Thursday. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month 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 stock has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.51, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $447.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $471.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.