Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,010 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,475 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,010 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at about $153,532,000. White Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the third quarter worth $244,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 79,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,580 shares in the last quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 24.3% during 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. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 323.3% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 44,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,927,000 after purchasing an additional 33,642 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE MCO opened at $370.32 on Wednesday. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $296.45 and a 1 year high of $407.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $67.58 billion, a PE ratio of 42.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $385.68 and a 200 day moving average of $368.64.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.75.

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.