Kestra Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 191 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $90,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth approximately $140,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 2.9% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in Moody’s by 25.9% during the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 1,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Moody’s by 0.4% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,186,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 74,000.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,935,000 after purchasing an additional 723,721 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $511.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $486.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $480.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $528.77.

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.