Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,589 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $23,680,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 227,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,548,000 after buying an additional 32,633 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. lifted its position in Moody’s by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 2,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Moody’s by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,826,000 after acquiring an additional 4,163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $468.65 on Thursday. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $531.93. 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 stock has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a PE ratio of 41.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $447.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $471.66.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The business 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%. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 32.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.