Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Holdings Raised by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $15,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Moody’s by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,613,867,000 after purchasing an additional 119,450 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Moody’s by 8.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,918,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,228,382,000 after buying an additional 225,846 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Moody’s by 133.9% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,277,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $958,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,434 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1.2% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,980,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $833,450,000 after acquiring an additional 24,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 11.1% in the first quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,746,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $686,230,000 after acquiring an additional 173,900 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.4 %

MCO opened at $466.94 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $495.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $478.15 and a 200-day moving average of $437.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.