Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) is Ycg LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Ycg LLC lessened its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 183,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,905 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises 5.8% of Ycg LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Ycg LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Moody’s worth $72,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 87.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE MCO traded up $2.73 on Friday, reaching $445.98. 784,921 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 706,153. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $412.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $394.30. The company has a market cap of $81.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.10, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.28. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $451.19.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. Moody’s’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Moody’s from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody’s from $424.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Finally, Barclays raised Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $420.27.

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.