Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Bought by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $11,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,613,867,000 after acquiring an additional 119,450 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 8.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,918,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,228,382,000 after purchasing an additional 225,846 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 133.9% in 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 buying an additional 1,303,434 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in Moody’s by 1.2% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,980,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $833,450,000 after purchasing an additional 24,107 shares during the period. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,746,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $686,230,000 after purchasing an additional 173,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $478.82 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $495.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $468.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.71. The company has a market capitalization of $87.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MCO. Raymond James downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $477.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’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 approximately $473,647.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Company 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.