White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $284,000 in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 600 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,590,679 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $752,980,000 after acquiring an additional 220,681 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $471,000. Whitebark Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $4,036,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $4,434,000. Finally, Valley Forge Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley Forge Capital Management LP now owns 1,314,144 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $622,076,000 after purchasing an additional 25,700 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. 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. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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, Barclays decreased their price objective on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.87.

Moody's Stock Down 0.3%

Moody's stock traded down $1.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $470.19. The company had a trading volume of 363,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 768,760. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $452.34 and a 200 day moving average of $473.04. The stock has a market cap of $84.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.72, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.47%.

Insider Activity

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

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.