SRN Advisors LLC Acquires 108 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

SRN Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the quarter. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Strategic Advocates LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $933,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $460.59. 1,283,824 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 870,865. The company has a market capitalization of $83.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. 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 two-hundred day simple moving average is $402.06.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 37.12%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, insider Richard G. Steele 1,506 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $448.50.

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.