M&T Bank Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,913 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,340 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Moody's were worth $29,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 74,000.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $343,935,000 after acquiring an additional 723,721 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 12.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Moody's by 32.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $985,115,000 after purchasing an additional 502,891 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 22.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,107,344,000 after purchasing an additional 430,878 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,708,851,000 after buying an additional 416,535 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $4.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $466.35. 1,571,463 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 729,253. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $479.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $463.13. The company has a market cap of $84.50 billion, a PE ratio of 42.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30. 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 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $503.95.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Moody's from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Moody's from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $506.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, 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 transaction of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,387,952.46. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.