Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $153,532,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 73,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,645,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. White Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Finally, Walter Public Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 37,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,479,000 after purchasing an additional 7,250 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $414.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $340.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.50, for a total value of $958,945.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,368,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock traded up $4.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $394.54. 133,769 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 714,498. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $386.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $362.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $72.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.27. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $290.98 and a one year high of $407.62.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.95%.

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.