Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Boosts Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 19.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,613,867,000 after buying an additional 119,450 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 12,049,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,706,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,678,594 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of 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 worth $1,228,382,000 after purchasing an additional 225,846 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 133.9% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,277,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $958,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.2% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,980,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $833,450,000 after purchasing an additional 24,107 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $494.66 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week high of $495.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $467.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $423.85. The firm has a market cap of $90.32 billion, a PE ratio of 54.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 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 (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value 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 have sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.