1,096 Shares in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Acquired by Cache Advisors LLC

Cache Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,096 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

NYSE:MCO traded down $2.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $478.52. The stock had a trading volume of 663,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 768,781. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.09 billion, a PE ratio of 42.46, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $452.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $473.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $520.87.

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.