Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Bowie Capital Management LLC

Bowie Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 146,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,853 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for about 3.6% of Bowie Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Bowie Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $69,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,844,000 after buying an additional 12,099 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 98.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,909 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 204.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,753 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,371,000 after purchasing an additional 12,588 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth $141,336,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,792,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $4.05 on Monday, reaching $484.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,657. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $358.49 and a 52-week high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.90, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $473.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $451.64. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MCO shares. Oppenheimer upped 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

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.