Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 722 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Moody’s by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE MCO opened at $500.88 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $474.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.66. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $358.49 and a 12 month high of $503.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.74, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’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 transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.