Walter Public Investments Inc. Sells 65 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Walter Public Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for approximately 3.4% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $18,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $312,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $256,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $720,502,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $476.96 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $463.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $420.42. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $490.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market cap of $87.09 billion, a PE ratio of 52.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $477.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.