Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 465,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,239 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.25% of Moody’s worth $196,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Moody’s by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $482.73 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $464.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $421.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.15 billion, a PE ratio of 52.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $298.86 and a fifty-two week high of $490.18. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $477.08.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 in the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.