ING Groep NV Has $3.75 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

ING Groep NV lowered its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 59.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,894 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,529 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Moody’s by 114.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $473.36 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $352.17 and a 52-week high of $495.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.77 billion, a PE ratio of 43.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $474.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $446.79.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.