LPL Financial LLC Purchases 4,527 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 113,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,527 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Moody’s worth $53,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during 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. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $469.44 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $485.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $480.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market cap of $84.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.65, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. 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. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MCO. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $527.00.

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.