Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $499.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.54 billion, a PE ratio of 45.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $358.49 and a 52-week high of $501.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $452.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.