HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Makes New Investment in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $1,564,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 206,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,812,000 after purchasing an additional 3,489 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $420.06 on Wednesday. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $298.86 and a fifty-two week high of $420.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.86, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $395.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $389.14.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results 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 company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 10.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MCO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays raised shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $350.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.50.

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.