Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Sells 80 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Moody’s by 566.7% in 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 lifted its position in Moody’s by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCO. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $528.77.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $493.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $488.85 and its 200 day moving average is $481.88. The stock has a market cap of $88.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 over the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.