Kera Capital Partners Inc. Makes New $386,000 Investment in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 815 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $386,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 272.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in 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. raised its holdings in Moody's by 101.9% during 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. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE MCO traded down $3.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $475.74. 768,378 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 466,859. The stock has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $503.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $480.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $471.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 EPS. Analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moody's from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

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.