Sentry Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 825 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 89 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $153,532,000. White Pine Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 79,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,580 shares in the last quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 24.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 323.3% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 44,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,927,000 after purchasing an additional 33,642 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $373.54 on Tuesday. 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 $68.17 billion, a PE ratio of 42.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $386.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $368.26. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $296.45 and a 1 year high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.67 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 38.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCO. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus 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.