Sterling Investment Management LLC Buys 878 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Sterling Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises about 1.3% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Monarch Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $393,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 10,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,941,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Moody’s by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $390.24 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $386.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $362.64. The firm has a market cap of $71.22 billion, a PE ratio of 44.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.27. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $290.98 and a twelve month high of $407.62.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 38.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCO. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Moody’s 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 report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Moody’s from $340.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Moody’s from $427.00 to $411.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Six 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.42.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.50, for a total transaction of $958,945.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,368,273.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.