Virtu Financial LLC Sells 10,746 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Virtu Financial LLC reduced its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 68.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,746 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,327,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Okabena Investment Services Inc. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional increased its stake in Moody’s by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.0 %

MCO stock opened at $459.73 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $485.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $480.44. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.70 billion, a PE ratio of 40.79, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The company 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $527.00.

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.