Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.53 Million Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 412 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE MCO opened at $466.94 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $495.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $478.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $437.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $85.26 billion, a PE ratio of 50.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. Moody’s’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Barclays increased their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.