Moody’s Corporation $MCO Stock: Kestra Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,938 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $19,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 87.1% during the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1,866.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reissued 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Moody’s from $597.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Evercore boosted their target price on Moody’s from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Moody’s from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Moody’s from $610.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $552.63.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $505.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.22 billion, a PE ratio of 30.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $477.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $467.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael West sold 9,946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total transaction of $4,853,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 8,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,176,792. This represents a 53.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $419,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,364 shares in the company, valued at $23,370,620. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,539 shares of company stock valued at $5,619,222. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.

The company traces its roots to 1900, when John Moody began publishing financial analyses of railroad securities.