Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Holdings Reduced by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 428 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.8 %

MCO stock opened at $473.31 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $473.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $448.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $352.17 and a 52-week high of $495.10.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James lowered Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

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.