United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Sells 42,053 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund reduced its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 37.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,036 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 42,053 shares during the quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund's holdings in Moody's were worth $33,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Moody's by 114.3% during the second 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 during 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. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Moody's from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Moody's from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody's Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MCO traded up $2.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $482.09. The company had a trading volume of 846,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,521. The company has a market capitalization of $87.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $350.38 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $474.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $446.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody's news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Moody's Company 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.