Mystic Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Mystic Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 456 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 57.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,692,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $2,583,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,699,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $527.00.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $453.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $486.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $481.20. 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 $81.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. On average, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

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.