Accent Capital Management LLC Has $1.87 Million Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Accent Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 490 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises about 1.1% of Accent Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Accent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its position in Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $473.31 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $352.17 and a 1 year high of $495.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $473.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $448.02. The company has a market capitalization of $85.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its 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 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

About Moody’s

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.