Lincoln Capital LLC Sells 76 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Lincoln Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for approximately 1.1% of Lincoln Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Lincoln Capital LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at $2,967,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in Moody’s by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 360,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $141,876,000 after purchasing an additional 34,370 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,893,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.5% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 10,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,316,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestmont Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO traded up $4.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $424.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 77,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 712,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $428.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $400.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $391.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.27.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.69 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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