Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,047 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,772 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $14,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kenora Financial LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 3.8% during the first quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 623 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1.2% during the third quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.5% in the third quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $775,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $506.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $477.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $467.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.35. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $610.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $552.63.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $419,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,370,620. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael L. West sold 9,946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total value of $4,853,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 8,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,176,792. This represents a 53.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.