Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stake Decreased by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 226,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,691 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.12% of Moody’s worth $107,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Moody’s by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 1.0% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 221,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,238,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,612 shares of company stock valued at $2,110,119. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $456.36 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $476.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $440.88. The stock has a market cap of $82.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.68, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $317.54 and a one year high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.06 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, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

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.