Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $350.77 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 898,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $350,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 87.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.50.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE MCO traded up $0.65 on Wednesday, hitting $394.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 232,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 731,355. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $407.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $384.45 and its 200 day moving average is $375.15. The firm has a market cap of $72.06 billion, a PE ratio of 43.02, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. Moody’s’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

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.