Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Acquired by RFG Advisory LLC

RFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,079 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Lannebo Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 175.2% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 421 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 115,996 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,106,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Salley & Associates raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Smith Salley & Associates now owns 7,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,886,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $377.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $386.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $367.13. The company has a market cap of $68.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.20, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.27. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $296.45 and a 12 month high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 38.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.50, for a total value of $958,945.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,099 shares in the company, valued at $20,368,273.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCO. UBS Group boosted their target price on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Moody’s from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.75.

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.