Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by PineStone Asset Management Inc.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,537,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,504 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises approximately 6.8% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.85% of Moody’s worth $727,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Moody’s by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,715,000 after buying an additional 10,350 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 133,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $63,197,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 64,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,872,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $522.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.72 billion, a PE ratio of 47.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $484.38 and a 200-day moving average of $478.15. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. On average, analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 843 shares of company stock worth $405,455 over the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $522.62.

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.