New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 226,125 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,691 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.12% of Moody's worth $107,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MCO. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the first quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Moody's by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Moody's in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody's Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Moody's stock traded up $2.32 on Friday, reaching $456.36. 582,578 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 738,855. The company has a market capitalization of $82.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $317.54 and a 52 week high of $495.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $476.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $441.37.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody's had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. Moody's's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MCO. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Moody's from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James downgraded Moody's from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company'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 owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,612 shares of company stock valued at $2,110,119 over the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.