Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Accretive Wealth Partners LLC

Accretive Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 28 shares during the quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 52.2% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,844,000 after acquiring an additional 12,099 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,988 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 98.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,909 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 204.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,753 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,371,000 after buying an additional 12,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $141,336,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $478.02 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $473.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $450.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $358.49 and a 52-week high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James cut Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

About Moody’s

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.