Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Lowers Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV trimmed its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 232 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $9,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCO. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.87.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.1%

MCO stock opened at $479.13 on Thursday. The company 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 company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $447.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $471.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. As a group, analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 32.47%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.