Fiduciary Alliance LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 32.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $6,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,446,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 99,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,904,000 after acquiring an additional 11,362 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,272,000 after acquiring an additional 4,548 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its stake in Moody’s by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 13,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE MCO traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $452.58. 59,486 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 541,382. The business’s 50 day moving average is $479.92 and its 200-day moving average is $469.73. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $503.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Raymond James cut shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.14.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,243 shares of company stock worth $1,045,326. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Company 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.