Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) is Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for 2.5% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Conning Inc. lifted its position in Moody’s by 3.0% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.1% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 1.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 2.6% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 960 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.5% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE:MCO traded up $11.61 on Friday, reaching $477.18. The stock had a trading volume of 720,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,764. The company has a market cap of $86.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $337.80 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $474.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $444.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. Moody’s’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

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.