Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,952 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,767,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in Moody’s by 6.6% in the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 834 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 10,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,774,000 after buying an additional 2,988 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $478.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $473.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $450.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $86.62 billion, a PE ratio of 43.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $358.49 and a fifty-two week high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

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.