FourThought Financial Partners LLC Invests $342,000 in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 722 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in 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 increased its stake 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 buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $501.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.32 billion, a PE ratio of 44.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. 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 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $487.66 and its 200-day moving average is $481.68.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 in the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $528.77.

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.