Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Decreases Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lessened its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 32.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,938 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 948 shares during the quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Moody’s in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in 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 period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $480.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market cap of $87.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.90, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $473.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.86. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $358.49 and a 12-month high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCO. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.