Commerce Bank Sells 146 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,531 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 52.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 12,099 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Moody’s by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,988 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 98.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,909 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 204.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,753 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,371,000 after purchasing an additional 12,588 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $141,336,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $480.66 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $450.86. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $358.49 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The stock has a market cap of $87.10 billion, a PE ratio of 43.90, a PEG ratio of 3.05 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 data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.