1832 Asset Management L.P. Increases Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 881 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $15,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,613,867,000 after purchasing an additional 119,450 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Moody’s by 8.4% in the second 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. lifted its holdings 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 worth $958,481,000 after buying an additional 1,303,434 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $833,450,000 after acquiring an additional 24,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 11.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 173,900 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $477.08.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’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 owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 3.2 %

Moody’s stock opened at $478.82 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $468.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $424.71. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $495.10. The company has a market cap 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

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. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

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.