Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 996 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,098 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 996 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $30,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $461.97 on Monday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $489.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $482.72. The stock has a market cap of $83.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $528.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,390,984.84. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.