Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by IMS Capital Management

IMS Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $448.50.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, insider Richard G. Steele 1,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1 %

MCO traded down $0.29 on Friday, reaching $460.59. 1,283,824 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 870,865. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $427.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $402.06. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $462.66. The company has a market cap of $83.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.28, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion for 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 prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

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.