Convergence Financial LLC Sells 25 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Convergence Financial LLC reduced its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 441 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 25 shares during the quarter. Convergence Financial LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $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 bought a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $528.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $493.65 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.80, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $488.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $481.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 33.36%.

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.