Threadgill Financial LLC Acquires 713 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Threadgill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 40.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for 0.6% of Threadgill Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Threadgill Financial LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,243 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,326. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.14.

Moody’s Stock Down 4.2 %

MCO stock opened at $452.47 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $479.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $469.73. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $503.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.