Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Acquired by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $12,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO opened at $500.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 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 1-year low of $358.49 and a 1-year high of $503.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $474.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $453.66.

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 return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

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.