Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 163 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises approximately 1.2% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $10,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $153,532,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $6,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,942 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $244,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Moody’s by 17.0% during the fourth 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 stake in Moody’s by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 37,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,479,000 after acquiring an additional 7,250 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upgraded Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Moody’s from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.75.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.2 %

MCO traded up $4.51 on Monday, reaching $379.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 504,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,154. The stock has a market cap of $69.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.27. 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $383.57 and its 200 day moving average is $370.41.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.16% and a return on equity of 55.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

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.