Savvy Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 432 Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 432 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total transaction of $138,932.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $30,601,631.48. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 977 shares of company stock worth $477,848. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $434.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $78.11 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $468.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $475.20. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays cut their price target on Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $524.86.

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.