The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 95,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,523 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $45,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Qsemble Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Moody’s by 1,052.4% in the 3rd quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 5,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,746,000 after acquiring an additional 5,283 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Moody’s by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 216,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $102,738,000 after buying an additional 32,483 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 97.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,655,000 after buying an additional 1,722 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in Moody’s by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,051 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Moody’s by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $500.88 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $474.49 and a 200 day moving average of $453.66. The company has a market capitalization of $90.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.74, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $358.49 and a 1-year high of $503.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCO. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James downgraded Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

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.