Bowie Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Bowie Capital Management LLC cut its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,853 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises 3.6% of Bowie Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Bowie Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Moody’s worth $69,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Moody’s by 97.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,655,000 after buying an additional 1,722 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 31.9% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,051 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 18.8% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Moody’s by 164.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,872,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Raymond James downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:MCO traded up $4.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $484.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,657. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $87.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $473.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $451.64. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $358.49 and a 12 month high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

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.