Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stake Lowered by Insight Wealth Strategies LLC

Insight Wealth Strategies LLC decreased its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 262 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Haverford Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Okabena Investment Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the third quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.5% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 984 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% during the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 660 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE MCO traded down $4.26 on Monday, hitting $474.89. 215,557 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 348,061. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $503.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $479.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $468.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,390,984.84. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,243 shares of company stock worth $1,045,326 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MCO. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.14.

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.