Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Has $3.30 Million Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $425,827,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 2,543.5% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,233,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $377,437,000 after buying an additional 1,186,718 shares during the period. TCI Fund Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 10,369,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,173,268,000 after buying an additional 1,157,192 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,994,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,112,947,000 after buying an additional 914,530 shares during the period. Finally, StonePine Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 697.0% during the 1st quarter. StonePine Asset Management Inc. now owns 997,933 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $305,381,000 after buying an additional 872,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 2.2 %

Moody’s stock traded down $7.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $341.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 933,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 765,214. The company has a market capitalization of $62.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $230.16 and a 12 month high of $363.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $342.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $323.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.98% and a net margin of 25.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th were issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 39.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 282 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.24, for a total value of $99,049.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 65,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,124,939.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, insider Michael L. West sold 2,641 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.79, for a total value of $931,718.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,910,870.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.24, for a total value of $99,049.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 65,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,124,939.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,065 shares of company stock valued at $8,216,543. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Moody’s from $346.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $300.00 to $323.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, June 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $328.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $329.56.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Investors Service and Moody's Analytics. The Moody's Investors Service segment publishes credit ratings and provides assessment services on various debt obligations, programs and facilities, and entities that issue such obligations, such as various corporate, financial institution, and governmental obligations, as well as and structured finance securities.