CIBC Asset Management Inc Acquires 1,735 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,733 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,735 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in Moody's were worth $11,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Haverford Trust Co grew its position in shares of Moody's by 1.8% in the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. grew its holdings in Moody's by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Moody's by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 2.6% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 960 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded down $8.78 on Friday, hitting $473.31. The stock had a trading volume of 653,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 726,660. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $473.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $448.02. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $352.17 and a twelve month high of $495.10. The company has a market capitalization of $85.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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 payout ratio is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Moody's from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

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.