Clearstead Trust LLC Increases Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1,180.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 999 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,974,432 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,296,000 after acquiring an additional 88,667 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,301,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,359,927,000 after purchasing an additional 205,800 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,661,998 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,474,000 after purchasing an additional 59,476 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,515,430 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $591,867,000 after buying an additional 4,444 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 873,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $276,264,000 after acquiring an additional 9,420 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Moody’s stock traded up $4.16 on Friday, hitting $380.56. 793,012 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 756,106. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $296.45 and a 12-month high of $407.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $383.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $373.23. The company has a market cap of $69.45 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.26.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Barclays raised shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.50.

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.