Asset Dedication LLC Has $41,000 Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 83.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $41,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $486.22 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $298.86 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The company has a market capitalization of $88.78 billion, a PE ratio of 53.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $477.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $434.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MCO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Moody’s from $492.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $488.46.

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.