Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 840 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 42 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Moody’s by 87.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $63,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.1 %

MCO traded up $4.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $380.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 793,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 756,106. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $296.45 and a fifty-two week high of $407.62. The stock has a market cap of $69.45 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50-day moving average is $383.97 and its 200-day moving average is $373.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody’s had a return on equity of 54.50% and a net margin of 27.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned 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 $398.50.

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.