Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,290 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $22,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price target 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MCO opened at $500.88 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $474.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $358.49 and a 12-month high of $503.95.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.