Tower Bridge Advisors Reduces Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Tower Bridge Advisors lowered its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,041 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $9,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at about $208,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Moody’s by 165.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 218 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 12.8% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 19,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $473.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $85.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.22, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $473.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $448.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $352.17 and a 12-month high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

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.