Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.85 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 59.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 4,900.0% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 143.8% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 117 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.7 %

MCO opened at $377.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.20, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $386.70 and its 200 day moving average is $367.13. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $296.45 and a fifty-two week high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.50, for a total transaction of $958,945.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,368,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.