Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Allen Investment Management LLC

Allen Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,003,682 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 108,632 shares during the period. Moody's comprises about 5.1% of Allen Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Allen Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.55% of Moody's worth $422,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its position in Moody's by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 13,045 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Moody's by 43.1% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,904 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its position in Moody's by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 48,574 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth about $211,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. 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. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody's from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Moody's from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Moody's to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Moody's from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Moody's from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $477.08.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO traded down $1.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $476.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 743,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,018. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $463.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $420.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Moody's Co. has a twelve month low of $298.86 and a twelve month high of $490.18. The stock has a market cap of $86.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.07, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

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.