Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 924 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 924 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,918,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,228,382,000 after purchasing an additional 225,846 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 133.9% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,277,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $958,481,000 after buying an additional 1,303,434 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,980,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $833,450,000 after buying an additional 24,107 shares in the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 1,746,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $686,230,000 after acquiring an additional 173,900 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Moody’s by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,709,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,635,000 after acquiring an additional 78,782 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

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 value 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 $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $473.31 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. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $352.17 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $473.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $448.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James lowered Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

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.