Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Takes Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $471.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.85 billion, a PE ratio of 41.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $484.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $479.80.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued 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 net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $527.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,601,631.48. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,258 shares of company stock worth $610,936 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.