Point72 Europe London LLP Decreases Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Point72 Europe London LLP cut its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 38.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,100 shares during the quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 59.5% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 31,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,246,000 after purchasing an additional 11,743 shares during the period. Stanley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,633,000. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 51,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,884,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth $2,469,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 14.1% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE MCO opened at $479.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $87.30 billion, a PE ratio of 52.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $495.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $469.02 and a 200-day moving average of $425.36.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $477.08.

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.