Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Dorsey Wright & Associates

Dorsey Wright & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 43 shares during the quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,198 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Moody’s by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 29,925 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,234 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 8.3% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 681 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 25.2% during the second quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $825,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO opened at $494.76 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $476.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $457.63. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $503.95. The stock has a market cap of $89.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.