Kowal Investment Group LLC Buys 81 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Kowal Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 14.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 655 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $1,235,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 39.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank increased its holdings in Moody’s by 1.3% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $486.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $88.78 billion, a PE ratio of 53.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $477.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.92. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $298.86 and a twelve month high of $495.10.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $492.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $488.46.

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.