Moody’s Corporation $MCO Stock Sold by Walter Public Investments Inc.

Walter Public Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,371 shares during the period. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 87.1% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $514.47 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $477.82 and its 200 day moving average is $466.88. The stock has a market cap of $88.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $597.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $505.00 price objective (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $552.63.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.75, for a total value of $890,237.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,234,163. This represents a 3.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jason D. Phillips sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.33, for a total transaction of $49,336.35. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $934,274.67. This represents a 5.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,282 shares of company stock worth $6,509,459. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and risk-analysis services. Through Moody’s Investors Service, it assesses the creditworthiness of businesses, governments and financial instruments, providing ratings and related research to investors and other market participants. Its Moody’s Analytics business offers data, software and analytical tools used in areas such as credit and financial risk management, compliance, and economic research. The company serves clients across international markets, including financial institutions, corporations, governments and investors.