Oxbow Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Oxbow Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,166 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises about 0.9% of Oxbow Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Oxbow Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $9,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded up $11.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $477.18. The company had a trading volume of 720,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,764. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.58, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $474.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $444.01. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $337.80 and a 52-week high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James lowered shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

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.