Troy Asset Management Ltd Sells 2,869 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Troy Asset Management Ltd reduced its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 183,720 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,869 shares during the quarter. Moody's makes up about 2.8% of Troy Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.10% of Moody's worth $87,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody's by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,143 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Kerusso Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 6.5% in the third quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 8,367 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,971,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,072 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Moody's in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,434,000. Finally, Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 973 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $11.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $477.18. The company had a trading volume of 720,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,764. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $474.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $444.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $337.80 and a one year high of $495.10. The stock has a market cap of $86.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. 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 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Moody's from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $500.00.

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.