Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 491 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Edgestream Partners L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 521 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 491 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,613,867,000 after purchasing an additional 119,450 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Moody’s by 8.4% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 225,846 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Moody’s by 133.9% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,277,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $958,481,000 after buying an additional 1,303,434 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in Moody’s by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,980,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $833,450,000 after buying an additional 24,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,746,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $686,230,000 after buying an additional 173,900 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $478.82 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $468.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $424.71. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $298.86 and a 12-month high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.