2,726 Shares in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Bought by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,726 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,290,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Moody's by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO traded up $9.11 on Wednesday, hitting $471.69. The company had a trading volume of 681,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,144. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $503.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company's fifty day moving average price is $479.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $470.30. The stock has a market cap of $85.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on 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 boosted their target price on Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Moody's from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.14.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,243 shares of company stock worth $1,045,326 in the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.