Human Investing LLC Purchases New Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 461 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Motco lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 9,756.3% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,844,000 after buying an additional 12,099 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 38,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,191,000 after acquiring an additional 3,169 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 52,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,673,000 after acquiring an additional 21,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,613,867,000 after acquiring an additional 119,450 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,612 shares of company stock valued at $2,110,119 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $4.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $458.35. 126,894 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 736,604. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $476.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $440.31. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $317.54 and a 1-year high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.46, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Moody’s 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.