Gabelli Funds LLC Has $18.08 Million Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 329.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,954 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $18,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Moody’s by 114.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $494.66 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $467.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.10. The firm has a market cap of $90.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.00, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $298.86 and a 1 year high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $477.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the 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 $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 in the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.