9,545 Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,545 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $914,721,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.4% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,420,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $643,191,000 after purchasing an additional 33,024 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 20.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,011,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,126,000 after purchasing an additional 168,528 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 7.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,188,000 after purchasing an additional 59,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 500,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $226,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.3%

MCO traded up $1.62 on Friday, hitting $508.18. 545,324 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 998,780. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $478.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $466.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a market cap of $87.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 25.11%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Michael West sold 9,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total transaction of $4,853,648.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,792. This represents a 53.75% 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, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.75, for a total transaction of $890,237.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares in the company, valued at $26,234,163. The trade was a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,282 shares of company stock valued at $6,509,459. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $597.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 16th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $552.63.

Moody’s Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and risk-analysis services. Through Moody’s Investors Service, it assesses the creditworthiness of businesses, governments and financial instruments, providing ratings and related research to investors and other market participants. Its Moody’s Analytics business offers data, software and analytical tools used in areas such as credit and financial risk management, compliance, and economic research. The company serves clients across international markets, including financial institutions, corporations, governments and investors.