Disciplined Equity Management Inc. Takes Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Disciplined Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 332 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $130,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $153,532,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 16,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,942 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $244,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 79,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walter Public Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 37,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,479,000 after purchasing an additional 7,250 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock traded down $0.96 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $381.21. The company had a trading volume of 568,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,564. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $384.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The company has a market cap of $69.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.27. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $296.45 and a fifty-two week high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Moody’s from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.75.

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.