Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys Shares of 995 Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 995 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 11.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 62,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,858,000 after purchasing an additional 6,340 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 32.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at $6,775,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. 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 research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $528.77.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $500.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $487.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $481.42. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.45, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 33.36%.

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.