Fortis Capital Management LLC Has $2.68 Million Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Fortis Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,642 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.8 %

MCO stock opened at $479.42 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $474.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $446.31. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.60 and a fifty-two week high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCO. Raymond James downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Moody’s 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.