Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth about $35,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO traded up $11.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $448.75. 884,404 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 757,001. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $458.24. The company has a market capitalization of $81.72 billion, a PE ratio of 48.99, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $422.75 and its 200-day moving average is $399.32.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. 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 research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $448.50.

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.