Bell Asset Management Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Bell Asset Management Ltd cut its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 9.2 %

MCO stock opened at $401.74 on Monday. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $531.93. The company has a market capitalization of $72.27 billion, a PE ratio of 35.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $482.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $478.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.43.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,258 shares of company stock worth $610,936. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.