John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Acquires 357 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 4,900.0% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 87.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” 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 lifted their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.75.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of MCO stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $374.67. 816,390 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 717,775. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $296.45 and a 52 week 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 $68.38 billion, a PE ratio of 42.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $384.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $368.73.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.73 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 38.95%.

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.