Quantum Capital Management LLC NJ Reduces Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Quantum Capital Management LLC NJ cut its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 159,108 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,695 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises 7.3% of Quantum Capital Management LLC NJ’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Quantum Capital Management LLC NJ’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $62,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Moody’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,974,432 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,418,296,000 after buying an additional 88,667 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 5.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,301,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,359,927,000 after buying an additional 205,800 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $720,502,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Moody’s by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,773,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $692,850,000 after buying an additional 229,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,661,998 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,474,000 after purchasing an additional 59,476 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.50.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.9 %

MCO stock traded up $3.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $410.60. The company had a trading volume of 498,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,095. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $390.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $382.98. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $417.75. The stock has a market cap of $74.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.83, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.26.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

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.