Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,407 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises approximately 1.5% of Fairbanks Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,684,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,062 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Richard G. Steele 1,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $448.50.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO traded up $7.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $458.06. 927,136 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 730,221. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $459.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $424.40 and a 200-day moving average of $400.55. The stock has a market cap of $83.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.28.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

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.