Aigen Investment Management LP Invests $2.30 Million in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 4,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,303,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $36,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $481.05 on Wednesday. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $490.15 and its 200-day moving average is $482.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.68, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 in the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.