Wulff Hansen & CO. Raises Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 41,992.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,918 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 279,253 shares during the quarter. Moody's accounts for approximately 0.6% of Wulff Hansen & CO.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Wulff Hansen & CO. owned approximately 0.15% of Moody's worth $117,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Moody's by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,689 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,389,000 after purchasing an additional 2,933 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in Moody's by 392.6% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 24,668 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,634,000 after acquiring an additional 19,660 shares during the period. Motco increased its holdings in Moody's by 9,756.3% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in Moody's during the first quarter worth $2,967,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 52.2% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,844,000 after purchasing an additional 12,099 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MCO traded down $2.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $482.73. The stock had a trading volume of 612,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,615. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $490.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The company has a market cap of $88.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.70, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $464.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $421.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Moody's's payout ratio is 37.12%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Moody's from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Moody's from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Moody's to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $477.08.

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.