OFI Invest Asset Management Makes New $41,000 Investment in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 90 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Moody’s by 566.7% during the third 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 lifted its position in Moody’s by 272.2% during the third 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. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $528.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $449.99 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $489.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $482.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

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.