Jennison Associates LLC Boosts Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 430,878 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,107,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter worth about $208,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 165.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,767,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.6% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mattern Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter worth about $260,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCO. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased 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, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. 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.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $468.72 on Wednesday. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $355.77 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $84.93 billion, a PE ratio of 42.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $473.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $449.84.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

About Moody’s

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.