DDD Partners LLC Has $504,000 Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

DDD Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. DDD Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 88,667 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Moody’s by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,659,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,315,556,000 after purchasing an additional 148,804 shares during the period. Akre Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Akre Capital Management LLC now owns 5,659,712 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,909,643,000 after purchasing an additional 38,615 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,301,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,359,927,000 after purchasing an additional 205,800 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Moody’s by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,994,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,947,000 after purchasing an additional 914,530 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $390.24 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $386.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $362.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $290.98 and a 1 year high of $407.62. The firm has a market cap of $71.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.70, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.27.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.95%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,547 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.50, for a total value of $958,945.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,368,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Moody’s from $427.00 to $411.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Moody’s from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.42.

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.