GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 535 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,586 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 535 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises about 0.8% of GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $17,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’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 directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MCO stock traded down $4.14 on Friday, hitting $462.80. The stock had a trading volume of 481,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 742,372. The firm has a market cap of $84.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.52, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $298.86 and a twelve month high of $495.10. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $478.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $438.28.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Raymond James lowered shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

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.