Oxbow Advisors LLC Sells 446 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Oxbow Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 446 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up approximately 1.0% of Oxbow Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Oxbow Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $8,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock traded down $8.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $475.44. 689,097 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 728,927. The company has a market capitalization of $86.82 billion, a PE ratio of 51.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $457.61 and a 200 day moving average of $416.36. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $490.18. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s 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 transaction of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 over the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating 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 report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $465.00.

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.