Napa Wealth Management Acquires New Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Napa Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,109 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $998,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,466 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,967,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Moody's by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 33,788 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,994,000 after buying an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 871 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $153,000. Finally, Threadgill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.87.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock traded up $1.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $489.15. 504,501 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 772,329. The stock's fifty day moving average is $448.18 and its 200-day moving average is $472.13. Moody's Co. has a 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The stock has a market cap of $88.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.40, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.47%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.