Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,265 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James downgraded Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.2 %

MCO stock opened at $491.55 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $476.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $458.51. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $503.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.