Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,009 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $18,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCO. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $477.08.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $494.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $467.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $423.85. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.