Xponance Inc. Has $18.36 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Xponance Inc. decreased its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 293 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $18,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Markel Corp boosted its position in Moody’s by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 212,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in Moody’s by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth about $1,078,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its position in Moody’s by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 30,994 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,457,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock traded down $0.81 during trading on Thursday, hitting $374.60. The company had a trading volume of 786,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,621. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $385.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $368.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The company has a market cap of $68.36 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 fifty-two week low of $296.45 and a fifty-two week high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 38.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCO. Barclays raised Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.