Moody’s Corporation $MCO Stake Lifted by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 116.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,810 shares during the quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $41,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 9,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,234,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Moody’s by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,055 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,566,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in Moody’s by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 3,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,565,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Moody’s by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. now owns 361 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.3%

MCO stock opened at $508.18 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $87.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $466.73.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). The company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.92 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $597.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $610.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $552.63.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Michael L. West sold 9,946 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total transaction of $4,853,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 8,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,176,792. This represents a 53.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason D. Phillips sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.23, for a total transaction of $99,299.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,481.62. This trade represents a 9.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,282 shares of company stock valued at $6,509,459. Corporate 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.