United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Decreases Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund cut its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17,026 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for about 2.2% of United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Moody’s worth $42,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Markel Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 212,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,078,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 8.7% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 2.3% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 30,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,457,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO traded up $5.04 on Wednesday, hitting $375.77. The stock had a trading volume of 356,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 716,247. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $385.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $368.64. The stock has a market cap of $68.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $296.45 and a 52-week high of $407.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.