1,071 Shares in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Acquired by Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $507,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued 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 issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.87.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 62,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $486.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $451.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $472.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $87.54 billion, a PE ratio of 43.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

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.