Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 286 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $463.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $83.47 billion, a PE ratio of 41.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $448.15 and its 200-day moving average is $471.68.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.87.

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.