HTLF Bank lessened its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO – Free Report) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 52 shares during the quarter. HTLF Bank’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Motco increased its position in Moody’s by 9,756.3% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,967,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,844,000 after buying an additional 12,099 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,893,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 38,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,191,000 after purchasing an additional 3,169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCO. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $488.46.
Moody’s Trading Up 1.6 %
Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $7.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $487.18. The company had a trading volume of 751,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 741,765. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $474.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $433.51. The company has a market capitalization of $88.96 billion, a PE ratio of 52.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $495.10.
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.
Moody’s Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.
Insider Transactions at Moody’s
In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 in the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
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.
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