Two Sigma Investments LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 61.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 114,558 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $33,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Moody’s by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,981,000 after acquiring an additional 4,544 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake 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 valued at $8,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Moody’s by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 994,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $470,712,000 after purchasing an additional 31,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMJ Financial Wealth Management bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $312,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $486.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $87.54 billion, a PE ratio of 43.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $451.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $472.90. 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 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.77%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related 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 value 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.