Picton Mahoney Asset Management Sells 9,450 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management lessened its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 45.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,450 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,769,000 after purchasing an additional 24,335 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 43,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,010,000 after purchasing an additional 4,427 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,451 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp increased its holdings in Moody’s by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 1,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Moody’s by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 12,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,824,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.5 %

MCO stock traded up $1.98 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $395.95. 550,844 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 735,027. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $384.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $375.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $72.30 billion, a PE ratio of 43.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Moody’s from $350.00 to $374.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays raised Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.50.

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.