Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Has $5.01 Million Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lowered its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 19.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,938 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter worth $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Moody’s by 114.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $487.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $89.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.25, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $450.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $411.85. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $488.64.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $456.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.