Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Holdings Raised by PineStone Asset Management Inc.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,537,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 53,504 shares during the period. Moody’s makes up about 6.8% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $727,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,715,000 after purchasing an additional 10,350 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 133,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $63,197,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 64,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,872,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.9 %

MCO stock opened at $522.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $484.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $478.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $94.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. On average, analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup began coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $522.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 843 shares of company stock worth $405,455. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.