Fiduciary Trust Co Increases Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Fiduciary Trust Co increased its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter worth $36,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $500.88 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $358.49 and a one year high of $503.95. The firm has a market cap of $90.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.74, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $474.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $453.66.

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. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.