8,300 Shares in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Acquired by Bretton Capital Management LLC

Bretton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,300 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,939,000. Moody's comprises about 3.8% of Bretton Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $958,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,434 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 74,000.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $343,935,000 after acquiring an additional 723,721 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the second quarter worth about $141,336,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 41,992.9% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 279,918 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $117,826,000 after purchasing an additional 279,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 8.4% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 225,846 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO stock traded up $2.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $482.09. The company had a trading volume of 846,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,471. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $474.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $446.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $350.38 and a one year high of $495.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm 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%. Moody's's revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.43 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James cut shares of Moody's from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Moody's from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $500.00.

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.