Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Acquired by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1,506.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 220,279 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 206,570 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $104,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,538 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,587,000 after acquiring an additional 2,404 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 10.6% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,446,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 55.2% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,056,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,329,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 232.6% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $474.26 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $479.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $468.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $503.95. The company has a market capitalization of $85.94 billion, a PE ratio of 43.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Raymond James downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,387,952.46. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,243 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,326. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.