Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Neuberger Berman Group LLC decreased its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 745,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20,057 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned 0.41% of Moody’s worth $353,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 4.5% in the 4th 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 stake in 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 during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Moody’s by 6.6% in the 4th 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. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Moody’s by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 62,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,858,000 after acquiring an additional 6,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MCO. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.43.

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 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,258 shares of company stock worth $610,936 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $439.22 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $473.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $476.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.97, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates 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 company 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 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.