First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 827 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 20.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Motco increased its position in Moody’s by 9,756.3% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,844,000 after acquiring an additional 12,099 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 8.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 38,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,191,000 after purchasing an additional 3,169 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 68.1% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 52,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,673,000 after purchasing an additional 21,300 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,613,867,000 after purchasing an additional 119,450 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $458.90 on Thursday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $477.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.21. The company has a market capitalization of $83.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.10, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $303.98 and a 12-month high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MCO. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,612 shares of company stock valued at $2,110,119 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s 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.