Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 10,790 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 170,698 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,790 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Moody's worth $81,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Moody's in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Moody's by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $8.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $473.31. 653,029 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 726,660. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $352.17 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 company has a market cap of $85.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.22, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.29. The business's fifty day moving average price is $473.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $448.02.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody's news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody's from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Moody's from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Moody's from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James cut Moody's from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody's has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.