Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 2,426 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up about 1.2% of Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $22,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 6,167 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $139,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 26,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,381,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE MCO traded down $0.96 on Wednesday, hitting $381.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 568,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,564. The firm has a market cap of $69.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.67, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.27. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $384.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $370.94. 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 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 firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. Research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.75.

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.