Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Shares Acquired by Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC

Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC increased its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,012 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises 1.7% of Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Moody’s by 2.4% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 41,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,290,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter worth approximately $286,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 18.4% during the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 740 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp increased its position in Moody’s by 37.3% during the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 442 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY increased its position in Moody’s by 0.4% during the first quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 58,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,246,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MCO shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $493.00 to $498.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $538.80.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $512.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.65 billion, a PE ratio of 43.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $496.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $478.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 2,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.18, for a total value of $1,083,701.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,841,138.44. This represents a 27.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total transaction of $741,365.31. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares in the company, valued at $705,238.38. This represents a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,593 shares of company stock valued at $4,382,984. Corporate insiders own 0.14% 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.