Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Purchases 34,954 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 561.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,954 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises 1.0% of Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $19,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,956,684,000 after buying an additional 63,820 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,738,645,000 after acquiring an additional 68,627 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $988,750,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 20.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,537,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $727,726,000 after purchasing an additional 53,504 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America began coverage on Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price target for the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.87.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.0%

MCO opened at $488.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $448.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $472.13.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 32.47%.

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.