Mission Wealth Management LP Cuts Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Mission Wealth Management LP lowered its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 328 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $482.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $490.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $482.75. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $528.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.