Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stock Holdings Lessened by Boston Financial Mangement LLC

Boston Financial Mangement LLC lessened its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 480 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises about 1.3% of Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Boston Financial Mangement LLC owned 0.05% of Moody’s worth $39,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,613,867,000 after purchasing an additional 119,450 shares during the period. TCI Fund Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 12,049,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,706,096,000 after buying an additional 1,678,594 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 8.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,918,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,228,382,000 after acquiring an additional 225,846 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 133.9% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,277,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $958,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,434 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,980,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $833,450,000 after acquiring an additional 24,107 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $4.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $487.74. The stock had a trading volume of 651,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,770. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $450.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $411.85. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week high of $488.64. The company has a market capitalization of $89.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $456.00.

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.