Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $917,000 Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,933 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. 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. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $479.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.55 billion, a PE ratio of 52.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $298.86 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $474.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $433.51.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued 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. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’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 transaction, the insider now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCO. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Raymond James cut shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $487.77.

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.