Vest Financial LLC Takes $204,000 Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 439 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $489.00 on Monday. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $455.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $473.58. The stock has a market cap of $87.97 billion, a PE ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

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.