Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,349 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $7,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth $35,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,043 shares of company stock valued at $1,857,335 in the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $458.41 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $475.89 and a 200-day moving average of $442.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $329.72 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The firm has a market cap of $83.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.86, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. 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.