Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stake Boosted by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,517 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCO. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 133.9% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,277,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $958,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,434 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 74,000.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,935,000 after acquiring an additional 723,721 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $141,336,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in Moody’s by 41,992.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 279,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,826,000 after purchasing an additional 279,253 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Investment Management LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 895,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,781,000 after purchasing an additional 254,178 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO opened at $466.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market cap of $85.26 billion, a PE ratio of 50.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $478.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $437.61. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $298.86 and a fifty-two week 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 return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 37.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCO. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average 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.