Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 240 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Moody’s by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 67,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,981,000 after purchasing an additional 4,544 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 62,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,858,000 after purchasing an additional 6,340 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $461.09 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $485.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $480.03. The company has a market capitalization of $82.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.91, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MCO shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $527.00.

Moody’s 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.