Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 996 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,098 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 996 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $30,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Haverford Trust Co grew its holdings in Moody's by 1.8% during the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. grew its holdings in Moody's by 0.8% during the third quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Moody's by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

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Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $441.64. 1,116,703 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 702,893. The firm has a market cap of $79.45 billion, a PE ratio of 39.19, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $487.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $481.97. Moody's Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MCO shares. Mizuho started coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on Moody's in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective 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, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $527.00.

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.