Fiduciary Group LLC Sells 1,084 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Fiduciary Group LLC cut its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,163 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,084 shares during the period. Moody’s makes up 2.2% of Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $19,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 87.7% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $52,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Barclays raised Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.75.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $376.13. The stock had a trading volume of 718,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 670,299. The company has a market capitalization of $68.64 billion, a PE ratio of 43.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $371.72. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $296.45 and a 1 year high of $407.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The business’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.95%.

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.