Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 69 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Moody’s by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 527.2% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 35,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,858,000 after purchasing an additional 29,824 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $312,000. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 833 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $476.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $463.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $420.14. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $490.18. The firm has a market cap of $86.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $477.08.

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.