CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Has $19.24 Million Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 49,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 429 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $19,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 87.7% in the third 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. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $410.18 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $74.90 billion, a PE ratio of 44.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $392.49 and its 200-day moving average is $386.12. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $298.86 and a 1 year high of $417.75.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $350.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.