Kestra Advisory Services LLC Has $16.75 Million Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $16,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in Moody’s by 1.3% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $933,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 10.9% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.6 %

Moody’s stock traded up $11.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $448.75. 884,404 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 757,001. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $298.86 and a fifty-two week high of $458.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $422.75 and its 200-day moving average is $399.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.99, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.28.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $448.50.

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.