Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 466 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $460.25 on Thursday. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $485.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $480.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.84, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MCO. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $527.00.

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.