Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 31,119 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 576,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 31,119 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $225,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Moody’s in the third quarter worth $153,532,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 16,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,942 shares in the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at $244,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,769,000 after acquiring an additional 24,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 679,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $265,285,000 after acquiring an additional 14,344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO traded up $3.40 on Wednesday, hitting $416.35. 153,038 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 717,198. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $417.75. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $388.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $381.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $76.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.26.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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 $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Barclays upgraded Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $400.50.

About Moody’s

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.