GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Has $16.05 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 968 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for approximately 0.8% of GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $16,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Moody’s by 114.3% during 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. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $478.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $462.10 and its 200-day moving average is $419.17. The firm has a market cap of $87.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $490.18.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $465.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 have sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.