Marcum Wealth LLC Invests $224,000 in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Marcum Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 471 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.2 %

Moody’s stock opened at $475.11 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $474.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $432.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market cap of $86.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $298.86 and a twelve month high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $487.77.

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.