Fiduciary Alliance LLC Buys 3,510 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 32.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,316 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,510 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $6,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Threadgill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at about $153,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 871 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 33,788 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,004 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MCO traded up $5.36 on Monday, hitting $458.17. 637,644 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 627,048. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $479.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $470.01. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week 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 has a market cap of $83.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. Moody's's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody's's payout ratio is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $521.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.