By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO – Free Report) by 44.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James lowered Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.14.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Moody’s
Moody’s Stock Down 0.7 %
Moody’s stock opened at $475.74 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $503.95. The stock has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.45, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $480.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Moody’s Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.
Insider Activity at Moody’s
In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,390,984.84. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
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.
Further Reading
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