Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 92 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 92 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $10,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 272.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,321,046.80. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $493.65 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $488.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $481.88. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company has a market cap of $88.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $528.77.

About Moody’s

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.