Venturi Wealth Management LLC Sells 421 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 421 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $518.66 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $486.13 and a 200 day moving average of $479.80. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93. 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 stock has a market cap of $93.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.37, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 33.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $528.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,390,984.84. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 843 shares of company stock valued at $405,455 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.07% 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.