Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by LRI Investments LLC

LRI Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 269 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 24 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MCO. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 22.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,107,344,000 after acquiring an additional 430,878 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,792,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 106.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,718,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Moody’s by 1.0% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 221,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,238,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 43.1% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,643,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MCO opened at $491.55 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $476.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $458.51. 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 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $503.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.07 billion, a PE ratio of 44.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.