Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stock Holdings Raised by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,016 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $25,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealthsource Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $375.41 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $385.09 and a 200-day moving average of $368.69. The firm has a market cap of $68.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.27. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $296.45 and a twelve month high of $407.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 38.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MCO. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.75.

Moody’s 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.