430 Shares in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Acquired by Terra Nova Asset Management LLC

Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 430 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 119,450 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Moody’s by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,918,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,228,382,000 after acquiring an additional 225,846 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Moody’s by 133.9% in the 2nd 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. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,746,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $686,230,000 after acquiring an additional 173,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE MCO traded down $0.52 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $486.66. 60,826 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 738,361. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $475.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $434.17. The company has a market capitalization of $88.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.02, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $488.46.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 over 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.