Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $223.10 Million Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 471,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,167 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $223,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Moody’s by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,981,000 after acquiring an additional 4,544 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 994,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $470,712,000 after acquiring an additional 31,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $524.33.

Moody’s Stock Down 2.6 %

MCO stock opened at $414.02 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $461.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $473.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.74, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.