Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by SRN Advisors LLC

SRN Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 304 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter worth $312,000. Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth $239,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,314,236.28. This 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 through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $498.05 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $488.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $481.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.