Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Lowers Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 238 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $460.25 on Thursday. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $82.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $485.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $480.79.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share 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 represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $527.00.

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.