Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Trims Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,126 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,915 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Moody's were worth $2,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter worth $208,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 165.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 218 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,499 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,767,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 834 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mattern Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter worth $260,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, 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 insiders.

Moody's Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of MCO traded up $5.76 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $474.54. 934,001 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 738,184. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $473.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $450.02. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $358.49 and a 52 week high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.99 billion, a PE ratio of 43.34, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.29. 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 released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. StockNews.com downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Moody's from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.