Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 89.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,055 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,335 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $3,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MCO. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Moody's in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $519.40.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Moody's stock traded up $2.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $487.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 511,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 764,476. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market cap of $87.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $378.71 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $454.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $473.36.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.94 dividend. 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 0.77%. Moody's's payout ratio is 32.47%.

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.