Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Trims Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. reduced its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $153,532,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Moody’s by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 16,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,942 shares during the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at about $244,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 79,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,206,000 after buying an additional 11,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walter Public Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 37,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,479,000 after acquiring an additional 7,250 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $372.24 on Thursday. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $296.45 and a one year high of $407.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $384.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $372.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.93 billion, a PE ratio of 42.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.26.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.75.

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.