Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 329 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lessened its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 329 shares during the period. Moody’s makes up 1.2% of Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $13,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $958,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,434 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 74,000.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,935,000 after acquiring an additional 723,721 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $141,336,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 41,992.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 279,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,826,000 after purchasing an additional 279,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allen Investment Management LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 895,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,781,000 after purchasing an additional 254,178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $462.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $83.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $329.72 and a 1 year high of $495.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $475.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $443.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue 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, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,043 shares of company stock worth $1,857,335 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.