Versant Capital Management Inc Has $32,000 Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 114.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $32,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Moody’s by 20.9% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 5.8% during the second quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,513 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 55.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 769 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.9% during the first quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMS Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.7% during the first quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 4,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MCO. Barclays boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $448.50.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, insider Richard G. Steele 1,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO traded up $12.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $461.97. The stock had a trading volume of 92,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 738,382. The company’s 50-day moving average is $428.76 and its 200 day moving average is $403.05. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $298.86 and a 12-month high of $462.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $84.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

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.