Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. Increases Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 49.7% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,644,000 after buying an additional 5,349 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 64,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,480,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Moody’s by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 344,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $163,580,000 after purchasing an additional 42,892 shares in the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at about $428,000. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.7% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 22,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,593,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,043 shares of company stock valued at $1,857,335. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.0 %

Moody’s stock traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $456.19. The company had a trading volume of 67,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 735,621. The firm has a market cap of $82.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $476.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $441.84. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $329.72 and a 1 year high of $495.10. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.