Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stock Holdings Increased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 94.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO opened at $459.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $82.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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 $485.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $480.42.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MCO. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.