Cinctive Capital Management LP Has $6.84 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Cinctive Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 350.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,241 shares during the quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $6,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 101.9% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE MCO opened at $468.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $84.24 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $485.04 and its 200 day moving average is $479.86. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCO. Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $527.00.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,321,046.80. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.