AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Trims Stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lessened its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,646 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,319 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Moody's were worth $33,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Motco increased its holdings in Moody's by 9,756.3% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,844,000 after acquiring an additional 12,099 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 52,600 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,673,000 after acquiring an additional 21,300 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,613,867,000 after acquiring an additional 119,450 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,046 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,988 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 2.5 %

MCO stock traded up $11.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $477.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 720,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,764. The company has a market cap of $86.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29. Moody's Co. has a 12 month low of $337.80 and a 12 month 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $474.46 and its 200-day moving average is $444.01.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCO. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Moody's from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Moody's from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Moody's from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $500.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other Moody's news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business'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 directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

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.