First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Moody’s by 87.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE MCO opened at $380.56 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $384.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.82. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $296.45 and a one year high of $407.62. The company has a market capitalization of $69.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.50.

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.