US Bancorp DE Boosts Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,312 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $10,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter worth approximately $594,000. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its stake in Moody’s by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 1,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Moody’s by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 38,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,191,000 after acquiring an additional 3,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 14.3% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Barclays boosted 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. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Moody’s 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 completion of 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,612 shares of company stock valued at $2,110,119. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.5 %

MCO opened at $456.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.69 billion, a PE ratio of 41.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $317.54 and a one year high of $495.10. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $476.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $441.37.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

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.