Threadgill Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Threadgill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 12.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in Moody’s by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,268 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 5,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 13.3% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,938,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.5% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 38.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $457.39 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $472.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $430.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.93, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MCO. Raymond James lowered Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $483.85.

About Moody’s

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.