Kestra Advisory Services LLC Buys 2,009 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO – Free Report) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 43,938 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $19,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,024,874,000 after buying an additional 72,043 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 2.4% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,420,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $643,191,000 after buying an additional 33,024 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 72.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,963,000 after acquiring an additional 454,684 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in Moody’s by 20.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,011,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,126,000 after acquiring an additional 168,528 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Moody’s by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,188,000 after acquiring an additional 59,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $505.89 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $477.44 and a 200-day moving average of $467.10. The company has a market capitalization of $87.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. Moody’s’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on MCO shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $505.00 price objective (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $552.63.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MCO

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael L. West sold 9,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total value of $4,853,648.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,792. This represents a 53.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $419,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,370,620. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,539 shares of company stock worth $5,619,222 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

(Free Report)

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and risk-analysis services. Through Moody’s Investors Service, it assesses the creditworthiness of businesses, governments and financial instruments, providing ratings and related research to investors and other market participants.

Its Moody’s Analytics business offers data, software and analytical tools used in areas such as credit and financial risk management, compliance, and economic research. The company serves clients across international markets, including financial institutions, corporations, governments and investors.

The company traces its roots to 1900, when John Moody began publishing financial analyses of railroad securities.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Moody's (NYSE:MCO)

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