Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Purchases 406 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 19.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,483 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Moody’s in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $478.82 on Tuesday. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $495.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $468.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.71. 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 stock has a market cap of $87.43 billion, a PE ratio of 52.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MCO. 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 research note on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $477.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.