Virtu Financial LLC Takes $2.12 Million Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 5,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,117,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $256,000. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 740 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Balentine LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 1,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $477.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.4 %

MCO opened at $482.73 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week high of $490.18. The stock has a market cap of $88.15 billion, a PE ratio of 52.70, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $464.98 and a 200-day moving average of $421.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

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.