491 Shares in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Acquired by USA Financial Formulas

USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 491 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burney Co. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,775,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestmont Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $479.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $480.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $470.31. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $503.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.14.

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.