Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,404 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.08% of Moody’s worth $54,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Wealthsource Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors increased 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc increased 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 purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.9 %

MCO opened at $370.32 on Wednesday. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $296.45 and a 1-year 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $385.68 and a 200-day moving average of $368.64.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.