Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $4.75 Million Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the first quarter worth approximately $594,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 1,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 29.4% in the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.9% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE MCO opened at $454.04 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $303.98 and a twelve month high of $495.10. The stock has a market cap of $82.27 billion, a PE ratio of 41.46, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $476.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $440.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the 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 owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,612 shares of company stock valued at $2,110,119. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.