Artemis Investment Management LLP Sells 2,593 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Artemis Investment Management LLP reduced its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,170 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,593 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $29,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’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 owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,387,952.46. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock worth $1,178,413 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $475.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $503.95. The firm has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $480.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $470.75.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. Raymond James lowered shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.14.

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.