Summitry LLC Has $35.11 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Summitry LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for approximately 1.7% of Summitry LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Summitry LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $35,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at about $210,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 10.7% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 722 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $477.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $85.90 billion, a PE ratio of 42.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $486.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $480.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Citigroup began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $527.00.

Moody’s Company 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.