AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Trims Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lowered its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,646 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,319 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $33,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Motco grew its position in Moody’s by 9,756.3% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 52.2% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 52,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,673,000 after buying an additional 21,300 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,613,867,000 after buying an additional 119,450 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake 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 worth $13,774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,988 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 approximately $654,296. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

Moody’s Stock Up 2.5 %

Moody’s stock opened at $477.22 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $474.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $444.01. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $337.80 and a 1-year high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.58, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. 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 results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus 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.