Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Acquires New Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 584 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthsource Partners LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Moody’s by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in Moody’s by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $376.13. 632,778 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 717,847. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $384.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $371.37. 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.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. Moody’s’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change 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 0.90%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.