Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 22.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,548 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $10,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 133.9% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,277,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $958,481,000 after buying an additional 1,303,434 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth $141,336,000. Allen Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 39.7% during the first quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 895,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,781,000 after purchasing an additional 254,178 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Moody’s by 8.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,918,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,228,382,000 after purchasing an additional 225,846 shares during the period. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 11.1% in the first quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,746,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $686,230,000 after purchasing an additional 173,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.9 %

MCO stock opened at $494.66 on Monday. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week high of $495.10. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $467.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.10. 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 announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $477.08.

Moody’s 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.