OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 246 shares during the quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 14.8% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the first quarter worth about $208,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 10.3% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $637,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,613,867,000 after acquiring an additional 119,450 shares during the period. Finally, Cercano Management LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 15.4% during the first quarter. Cercano Management LLC now owns 196,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,064,000 after acquiring an additional 26,128 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $473.36 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $474.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $446.79. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $352.17 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $85.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.23, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

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 value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MCO. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

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.