Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Has $2.13 Million Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. trimmed its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 56 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth $153,532,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 16,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,942 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 79,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walter Public Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Moody’s by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 37,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,479,000 after purchasing an additional 7,250 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $4.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $380.56. The company had a trading volume of 793,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 756,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.74. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $296.45 and a one year high of $407.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $383.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $373.23. The company has a market capitalization of $69.45 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.78 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MCO. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. 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 raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.50.

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.