MBB Public Markets I LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

MBB Public Markets I LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1,354.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,877 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 59,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,415,000 after acquiring an additional 2,518 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 47,250.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 947 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 18,513 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,230,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Chesapeake Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.2 %

MCO stock opened at $473.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.42 billion, a PE ratio of 51.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $495.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $469.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.05.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $477.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was 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 owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 in the last ninety days. Company 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.