Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stock Position Lifted by Aprio Wealth Management LLC

Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 871 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 101.9% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 2,243 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,326 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.14.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $458.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $479.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $470.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $503.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.