Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 315 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 315 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 14.8% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at about $208,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.7% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 29,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,608,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 2,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $482.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.03, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $350.38 and a 52 week high of $495.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $474.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $446.54.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

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.