J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $519.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.08 billion, a PE ratio of 46.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $486.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $480.07.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. 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 yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 30.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $528.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.