Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Holdings Lowered by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc cut its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 329 shares during the period. Moody’s makes up approximately 1.2% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $13,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCO. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $462.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $83.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $475.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $443.05. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $329.72 and a 52 week high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

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.