Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Has $1.27 Million Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 126 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,108 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,776,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $208,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 in the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $487.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company has a market capitalization of $89.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $450.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $411.85. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week high of $488.64.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $456.00.

Moody’s Company 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.