Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp cut its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,947 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $36,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 78.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,764,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Moody’s by 388.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 122 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Moody’s by 3.6% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 67,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,272,000 after buying an additional 2,343 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 7,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,454,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 480.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 30,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,563,000 after acquiring an additional 25,400 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $494.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $89.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.18, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $476.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $457.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $503.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James cut shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

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