Blueshift Asset Management LLC Makes New $815,000 Investment in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,717 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $815,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,100,000 after buying an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $231,000. Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 8.5% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 727 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 14.8% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at about $6,381,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $500.88 on Thursday. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $358.49 and a 12 month high of $503.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $474.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $453.33. The firm has a market cap of $90.76 billion, a PE ratio of 45.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 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.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.43 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

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