Empirical Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,420 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $2,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Haverford Trust Co grew its position in Moody's by 1.8% during the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Moody's by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. grew its stake in Moody's by 0.8% in the third quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 984 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 3.8% during the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 660 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded down $3.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $475.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 768,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,859. The company has a market capitalization of $86.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $503.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $480.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $470.75.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. Moody's's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 12.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $29,390,984.84. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 owns 1,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup initiated 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. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $521.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.14.

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.