Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 465,136 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,239 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.25% of Moody's worth $196,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Moody's in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Moody's by 114.3% in 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 bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Moody's news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Moody's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Six 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $477.08.

Moody's Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $484.67. The stock had a trading volume of 615,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 729,996. The company has a market capitalization of $88.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.91, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $490.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $465.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $422.32.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

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.