Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Connable Office Inc.

Connable Office Inc. cut its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,129 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,156 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $3,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Moody's by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody's during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:MCO traded down $8.73 on Friday, reaching $473.36. The stock had a trading volume of 653,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,132. Moody's Co. has a 12-month low of $352.17 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The stock has a market cap of $85.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.29. 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 50-day moving average of $474.02 and a 200 day moving average of $446.79.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James downgraded Moody's from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $521.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $500.00.

Moody's 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.