CWA Asset Management Group LLC Invests $1.43 Million in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,021 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,434,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Moody's in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Moody's by 114.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Moody's in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the first quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other Moody's news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm'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 owns 1,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody's Stock Up 2.5 %

Moody's stock traded up $11.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $477.18. The 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 43.58, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29. The business's 50 day moving average price is $474.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $444.44. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $337.80 and a 52 week high of $495.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. Moody's's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current 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 0.71%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Moody's from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, 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. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.