GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. Acquires New Shares in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 0.8% during the 4th 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 period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $425.58 on Thursday. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $467.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $474.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $522.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.