Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Buys 1,708 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,708 shares during the quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $6,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Raymond James cut Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $477.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $473.49 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $298.86 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $470.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $426.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $86.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.12%.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.