Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,942 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $6,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $153,532,000. White Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $244,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 17.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 24.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 323.3% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 44,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,927,000 after purchasing an additional 33,642 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $374.60 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $384.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $368.73. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $296.45 and a 12-month high of $407.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.73 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors 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 0.91%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Barclays upgraded Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average 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.