Accretive Wealth Partners LLC Reduces Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Accretive Wealth Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,531 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Haverford Trust Co grew its position in Moody’s by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $522.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $484.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $478.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.72 billion, a PE ratio of 47.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 843 shares of company stock worth $405,455 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $522.62.

Moody’s Company 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.