Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Cuts Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc trimmed its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 647 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Haverford Trust Co increased its stake in Moody’s by 1.8% during the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 2.1% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 1.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 2.6% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 960 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $482.09 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $350.38 and a 1 year high of $495.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $87.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.03, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $474.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $446.54.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James lowered shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

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.