Artemis Investment Management LLP Has $30.74 Million Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Artemis Investment Management LLP decreased its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 63,898 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $30,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Tennessee Treasury Department boosted its position in Moody’s by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 57,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,390,000 after buying an additional 13,681 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 20,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,199,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 25,095 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,801,000 after acquiring an additional 8,995 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $60,867,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 200.9% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 4,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,867,000 after buying an additional 3,192 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $470.86 on Wednesday. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.40, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.29. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $473.13 and its 200 day moving average is $430.55.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other 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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $492.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $483.85.

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.