Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Has $38.06 Million Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,659 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $38,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO traded up $2.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $476.20. 193,861 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 732,449. The stock has a market cap of $86.95 billion, a PE ratio of 51.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $476.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $441.12 and a 200-day moving average of $408.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MCO. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $456.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.