Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Acquires 12,891 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 250,851 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,891 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $105,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,093,000 after purchasing an additional 3,105 shares during the last quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 12.1% in the second quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 1,003,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $422,480,000 after buying an additional 108,632 shares during the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 13,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,491,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 43.1% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 48,574 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $484.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $298.86 and a 12-month high of $490.18. 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 50-day simple moving average of $464.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $421.17.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. UBS Group raised their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $477.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, 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.