Matrix Trust Co Takes $153,000 Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 324 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $153,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Haverford Trust Co lifted its stake 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 worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.8% in the third quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 2.5% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 984 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% during the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 660 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,243 shares of company stock worth $1,045,326. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.14.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.2 %

Moody’s stock opened at $458.17 on Tuesday. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $503.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $479.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.01. The firm has a market cap of $83.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.