Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Buys 993 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 993 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Moody’s worth $43,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Haverford Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. grew its position in Moody’s by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 0.8% during the third quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,313,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $497.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.44, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $474.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $455.05. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $503.95. 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 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. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MCO. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.