Slow Capital Inc. Sells 94 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Slow Capital Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealthsource Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.9% in 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 during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors raised 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 during the period. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO traded down $2.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $370.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 900,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 637,445. The company has a market capitalization of $67.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $385.68 and a 200-day moving average of $368.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The business 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 posted $1.60 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.