Merit Financial Group LLC Has $888,000 Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 56.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 825 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 2.1% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,742,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 653 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $380.56 on Monday. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $296.45 and a one year high of $407.62. The firm has a market cap of $69.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $383.97 and its 200-day moving average is $374.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MCO. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upgraded shares of Moody’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $398.50.

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.