Dock Street Asset Management Inc. Has $10.10 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Dock Street Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Moody’s makes up about 1.6% of Dock Street Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Dock Street Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $10,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Moody’s by 0.6% in the third 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. Akre Capital Management LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 0.7% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 38,615 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 5.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,301,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,359,927,000 after acquiring an additional 205,800 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Moody’s by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,994,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,947,000 after acquiring an additional 914,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 1.5% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,789,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $851,276,000 after acquiring an additional 41,746 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO traded up $1.96 during trading on Thursday, reaching $377.37. 146,134 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 711,926. The company’s 50-day moving average is $385.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $368.69. The company has a market cap of $68.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.27. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $296.45 and a 12-month high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly 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). Moody’s had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.75.

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.