Haverford Trust Co Increases Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Haverford Trust Co grew its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Motco grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 9,756.3% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,844,000 after purchasing an additional 12,099 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,613,867,000 after buying an additional 119,450 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 98.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $482.09 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $87.35 billion, a PE ratio of 44.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $474.05 and a 200-day moving average of $446.54. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $350.38 and a one year high of $495.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.43 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’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 owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James cut shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 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 issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

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.