Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Smart Money Group LLC

Smart Money Group LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the quarter. Smart Money Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 11.2% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 62,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,858,000 after acquiring an additional 6,340 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,777,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,775,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 567.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 80,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,338,000 after buying an additional 68,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 22.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,107,344,000 after buying an additional 430,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock worth $1,178,413. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.14.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $475.74 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $480.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $471.06. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $503.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.