Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. Has $65.32 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 155,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,080 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises 6.5% of Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Moody’s worth $65,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the first quarter worth $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the first quarter worth $35,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE MCO traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $460.59. 1,283,824 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 870,865. The company has a market cap of $83.87 billion, a PE ratio of 50.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week high of $462.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $427.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $402.06.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $448.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Richard G. Steele 1,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.