Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 1,598 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $10,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Moody’s from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $471.15 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $446.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $471.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

About Moody’s

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.