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Seilern Investment Management Ltd Invests $10.54 Million in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Moody's logo with Finance background

Seilern Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 22,268 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,541,000. Moody's comprises 0.6% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Moody's by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Moody's by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Moody's by 101.9% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MCO stock traded down $3.26 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $475.74. The company had a trading volume of 768,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,859. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $503.95. The company's fifty day moving average is $480.37 and its 200 day moving average is $471.38.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody's had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company 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. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock worth $1,178,413 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.14.

View Our Latest Report on MCO

Moody's Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Moody's (NYSE:MCO)

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