Empower Advisory Group LLC Raises Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Haverford Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.1% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the third quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $518.66 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $485.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $479.39. The company has a market capitalization of $93.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. 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 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total transaction of $138,932.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,601,631.48. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 843 shares of company stock valued at $405,455 in the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCO. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $528.77.

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.