Financial Advocates Investment Management Purchases 291 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 43.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 955 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.7% in the second quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 16,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,068,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 24.2% in the second quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC now owns 5,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,408,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.6 %

MCO traded up $2.84 on Thursday, hitting $485.37. The company had a trading volume of 200,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,846. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $488.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $447.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $410.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 in the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $456.00.

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.