Stifel Financial Corp Sells 1,947 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Stifel Financial Corp cut its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,550 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,947 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Moody's were worth $36,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Haverford Trust Co grew its position in shares of Moody's by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Conning Inc. grew its holdings in Moody's by 3.0% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 2.1% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Okabena Investment Services Inc. increased its position in Moody's by 0.8% during the third quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,313,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Moody's by 1.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's 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 value of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,387,952.46. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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.

Moody's Price Performance

Moody's stock traded up $3.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $494.76. 642,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 645,336. The firm has a market cap of $89.65 billion, a PE ratio of 45.18, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $476.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $457.63. Moody's Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $503.95.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $521.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody's Company Profile

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.