Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises 1.5% of Fairbanks Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $465.00.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $475.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $457.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $416.93. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $298.86 and a 1 year high of $490.18. The stock has a market cap of $86.58 billion, a PE ratio of 51.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. 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.