Threadgill Financial LLC Acquires 713 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Threadgill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 40.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for 0.6% of Threadgill Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Threadgill Financial LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $452.47 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $479.92 and a 200 day moving average of $469.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $503.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.99 billion, a PE ratio of 41.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.14.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,243 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,326. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.