Advantage Trust Co Takes Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,974,432 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,296,000 after purchasing an additional 88,667 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 5.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,301,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,359,927,000 after buying an additional 205,800 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,661,998 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $525,474,000 after buying an additional 59,476 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,515,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $591,867,000 after acquiring an additional 4,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,769,000 after acquiring an additional 24,335 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.4 %

MCO traded up $5.74 during trading on Thursday, reaching $401.68. 559,458 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 733,077. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $384.78 and its 200 day moving average is $375.29. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $407.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.35 billion, a PE ratio of 43.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody’s had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MCO. Barclays upgraded Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.50.

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.