Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 3,287 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,287 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $15,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $5,613,867,000 after purchasing an additional 119,450 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Moody’s by 8.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,918,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,228,382,000 after buying an additional 225,846 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $958,481,000 after buying an additional 1,303,434 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position 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 worth $833,450,000 after acquiring an additional 24,107 shares during the period. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $686,230,000 after acquiring an additional 173,900 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $462.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $83.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.21, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $475.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $443.05. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $329.72 and a 52 week high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. Moody’s’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,043 shares of company stock worth $1,857,335. Corporate 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.