Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 92.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,268 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,574 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $1,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 80.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter worth $66,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's 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 trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MCO. UBS Group increased their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $520.87.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $11.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $481.44. 609,351 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 769,204. The firm has a market cap of $86.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72, a PEG 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $452.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $473.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 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.