Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc reduced its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 272.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $527.00.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $446.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $486.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $481.42. The company has a market cap of $80.35 billion, a PE ratio of 39.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

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.