SVB Wealth LLC Invests $1.40 Million in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,948 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,396,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 566.7% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the third quarter worth $36,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody's Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $2.75 during trading on Monday, hitting $501.19. 1,189,686 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 787,410. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $489.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $482.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCO. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $528.77.

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.