Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,035 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.07% of Moody’s worth $63,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $458.90 on Thursday. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $303.98 and a fifty-two week high of $495.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $477.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $440.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $83.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,612 shares of company stock worth $2,110,119. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

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.