Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Bought by Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 384.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 0.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 5.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 0.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 843 shares of company stock worth $405,455 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $522.76 on Tuesday. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $94.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $484.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $478.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $522.62.

About Moody’s

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.