Merit Financial Group LLC Has $1.76 Million Stock Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 81.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,720 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,667 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $1,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $5,705,000. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 907 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 4,420 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,092,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Moody's by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,020 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $956,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MCO stock traded up $8.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $484.59. 411,563 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 597,926. The stock has a market cap of $87.81 billion, a PE ratio of 44.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $480.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $471.73. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $503.95.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during 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 for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 12.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business'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 value of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413 over the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody's in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Moody's from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $507.36.

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.