Cache Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,096 Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted 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 worth $57,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $520.87.

Moody's Price Performance

MCO stock traded up $11.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $481.44. 609,351 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 769,204. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72, a P/E/G 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $452.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $473.13. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.78%. Moody's's payout ratio is 32.47%.

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.