Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO – Free Report) by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,159 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,573 shares during the quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $11,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Fin Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 4,586 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 992 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $422,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 21,256.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 255,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,803,000 after acquiring an additional 253,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 925 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have commented on MCO shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Moody’s from $610.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $552.63.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Moody’s
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total transaction of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael L. West sold 9,946 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total value of $4,853,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,336 shares of company stock worth $5,984,081. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.
Moody’s Stock Up 1.0%
Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $493.80 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $477.31 and its 200 day moving average is $467.63. The company has a market cap of $85.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.35.
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.73 EPS for the current year.
Moody’s Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.11%.
Moody’s Profile
Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.
Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.
Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.
Featured Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Moody’s
- Starbucks Says Its Turnaround Is Done—The Numbers Make a Strong Case (With 1 Catch)
- 3 Robotics ETFs, 3 Different Ways to Bet on Humanoid Robots
- Can Microsoft Turn a Leaner Workforce and Record AI Spending Into Bigger Profits?
- Why JFrog Could Be the Software Infrastructure Company to Beat in the AI Boom
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Moody's Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Moody's and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
