Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Purchases New Shares in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 427 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $522.76 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $484.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $478.15. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $94.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $522.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 843 shares of company stock valued at $405,455. 0.07% of the stock is owned by 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.