Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 66,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $31,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $473.31 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $352.17 and a fifty-two week high of $495.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.76 billion, a PE ratio of 43.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.29. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $473.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $447.48.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given 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 yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’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 value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Barclays increased their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.