Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 50.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,040 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,041 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $7,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $519.40.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $2.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $487.68. 511,436 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 764,477. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $455.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $473.47. The company has a market cap of $87.73 billion, a PE ratio of 43.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. Moody's Co. has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.