Chiron Investment Management LLC Buys New Shares in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Chiron Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,265 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,075,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in Moody's by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 681 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Moody's by 3.2% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,532,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Vanderbilt University acquired a new position in Moody's during the second quarter worth approximately $3,428,000. DeDora Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 3,603 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Moody's from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Moody's from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody's from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $500.00.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

MCO stock traded up $6.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $498.06. 315,246 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 728,921. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $477.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $459.08. The stock has a market cap of $90.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.60, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $503.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. Moody's's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued 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 0.68%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

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.