Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4,300.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,124 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,053 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Haverford Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Conning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.0% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.1% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $491.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.00 billion, a PE ratio of 44.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $476.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.75. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $503.95. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.69%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lowered Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is 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.