Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY Sells 169 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lowered its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Moody’s by 98,060.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,127,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,087,460,000 after acquiring an additional 3,124,215 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $425,827,000. TCI Fund Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 12.6% in the first quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 10,369,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,173,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157,192 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its stake in Moody’s by 67.2% in the 2nd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,288,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $795,918,000 after buying an additional 920,100 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Moody’s by 29.7% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $361.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.93, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $326.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.88. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $272.70 and a 52-week high of $363.19.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The business services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.08. Moody’s had a net margin of 26.42% and a return on equity of 55.27%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 10.03 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 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael L. West sold 2,754 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.38, for a total transaction of $931,898.52. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,396 shares in the company, valued at $2,841,038.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, insider Michael L. West sold 2,754 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.38, for a total value of $931,898.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,841,038.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 2,546 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.99, for a total transaction of $875,798.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,838 shares in the company, valued at $21,615,643.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,903 shares of company stock valued at $6,270,468. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $332.00 to $318.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Moody’s from $346.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Moody’s from $399.00 to $366.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $381.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $351.54.

About Moody’s

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.