Smart Money Group LLC Has $723,000 Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Smart Money Group LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the quarter. Smart Money Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $723,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Moody’s by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 62,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,858,000 after acquiring an additional 6,340 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,775,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 567.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 80,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,338,000 after purchasing an additional 68,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 22.6% during the 3rd 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.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $475.74 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $480.37 and its 200-day moving average is $471.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $86.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $503.95.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Raymond James cut shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413 in the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.