Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Has $516,000 Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 109.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $489.15 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $449.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $472.55. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $88.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.87.

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.