Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stock Position Raised by Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,699 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,824 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management's holdings in Moody's were worth $13,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Moody's in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Moody's by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody's during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCO. StockNews.com upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Moody's from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Moody's from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $456.00.

Moody's Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $4.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $487.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 822,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,770. The company has a market capitalization of $89.06 billion, a PE ratio of 53.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $298.86 and a fifty-two week high of $488.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $451.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $412.45.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. 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.