Value Partners Investments Inc. Buys 182 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up about 0.1% of Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,601,631.48. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,258 shares of company stock valued at $610,936 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $428.55 on Monday. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The stock has a market cap of $77.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.03, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $471.20 and a 200 day moving average of $475.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $524.86.

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.