Aprio Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 871 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 12.9% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 99,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,904,000 after purchasing an additional 11,362 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 22.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,272,000 after buying an additional 4,548 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 5.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 250,851 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,590,000 after buying an additional 12,891 shares during the period. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Moody’s by 14.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,572,828 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $662,050,000 after acquiring an additional 198,065 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MCO. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James downgraded Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target for the company. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,243 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,326 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $458.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $83.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $479.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $470.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $503.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

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.