Moody’s Corporation $MCO Position Lessened by Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lessened its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 16.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 995 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kenora Financial LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1.5% during the third quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% in the first quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 623 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Moody’s by 1.2% during the third quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co boosted its position in Moody’s by 1.5% during the third quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on Moody’s from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $552.63.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $505.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $477.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $467.10. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a $1.03 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 25.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jason D. Phillips sold 195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.23, for a total transaction of $99,299.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,894 shares in the company, valued at $964,481.62. This represents a 9.33% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $419,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,370,620. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 11,539 shares of company stock valued at $5,619,222 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Profile

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.