Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 2,426 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,426 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for 1.2% of Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $22,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 87.7% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 85.5% in the third quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 128 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MCO traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $381.21. 568,374 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 715,564. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $296.45 and a 1 year high of $407.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $384.13 and its 200-day moving average is $370.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.27.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). Moody’s had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report 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 report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.75.

Moody’s 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.