Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Purchases New Shares in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,469,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Moody’s by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,689 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 392.6% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 24,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,634,000 after purchasing an additional 19,660 shares during the last quarter. Motco lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 9,756.3% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter worth $2,967,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,844,000 after buying an additional 12,099 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of Moody’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $477.08.

Moody’s Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $478.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $87.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.27, a P/E/G 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $298.86 and a fifty-two week 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.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Moody’s Company 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.