Carderock Capital Management Inc. Has $9.36 Million Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Carderock Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises 2.3% of Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $9,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Haverford Trust Co grew its stake in Moody’s by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.1% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the third quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 984 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 660 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MCO opened at $475.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.45, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $503.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $480.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $470.37.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.14.

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.