Clearstead Trust LLC Has $390,000 Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1,180.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 999 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $153,532,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 16,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,556,000 after buying an additional 2,942 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at about $244,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 79,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,206,000 after acquiring an additional 11,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walter Public Investments Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $14,479,000 after purchasing an additional 7,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock traded up $4.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $380.56. 793,012 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 756,106. The company has a market cap of $69.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.55, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $383.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $373.23. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $296.45 and a 52-week high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised 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. Barclays raised Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.50.

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.