Flossbach Von Storch SE Has $95.41 Million Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $95,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. State Street Corp raised its stake in Moody’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,047,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,344,802,000 after acquiring an additional 63,556 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 12.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,123,294,000 after acquiring an additional 723,226 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,708,851,000 after acquiring an additional 416,535 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 22.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,107,344,000 after acquiring an additional 430,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Moody’s by 32.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $985,115,000 after acquiring an additional 502,891 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $519.18 on Thursday. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $486.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $480.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.08 billion, a PE ratio of 46.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.31.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 30.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $528.77.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.