1,200 Shares in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Purchased by Traveka Wealth LLC

Traveka Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,200 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 932 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Moody's by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,294 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,290,000. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,777,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

MCO traded up $4.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $462.55. 393,125 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 597,801. The company has a market capitalization of $83.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.24, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $479.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $470.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody's Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $503.95.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.43 EPS. Moody's's revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $521.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody's in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.14.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,243 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,326. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Moody's Company 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.