Natixis grew its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO – Get Rating) by 78.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,612 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.0% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 13.3% in the third quarter. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd now owns 323 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.84% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s
In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.55, for a total value of $633,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 65,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,841,018.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.
Moody’s Stock Up 0.7 %
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.68. Moody’s had a return on equity of 59.87% and a net margin of 25.42%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 9.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Moody’s Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 9th. Investors of record on Friday, May 19th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 18th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 41.18%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have commented on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $312.00 target price on the stock. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM reiterated an “initiates” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Tuesday, May 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $342.00 to $349.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $308.00 to $325.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $308.80.
About Moody’s
Moody’s Corp. engages in the provision of credit ratings, research, tools and analysis to the global capital markets. It operates through the Moody’s Investors Service (MIS) and Moody’s Analytics (MA) segments. The MIS segment is a credit rating agency, which publishes credit ratings on debt obligations and the entities, including various corporate and governmental obligations, structured finance securities, and commercial paper programs.
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