Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graypoint LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 13.1% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Moody’s by 5.5% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 35,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,940,000 after buying an additional 1,875 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 11.1% in the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 761 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 21.8% in the third quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 3,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 2.5 %

MCO stock opened at $477.18 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $337.80 and a 52 week high of $495.10. 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 company has a market cap of $86.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $474.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $444.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MCO. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James cut Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.