Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 14,007.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 80,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 79,980 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for about 1.4% of Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $38,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.1% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the third quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $518.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $479.80. The stock has a market cap of $93.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.02, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. On average, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.57 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total transaction of $138,932.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,601,631.48. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 843 shares of company stock worth $405,455. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $528.77.

Moody’s Company 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.