Lingotto Investment Management LLP Boosts Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Lingotto Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,522 shares during the quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $7,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Moody’s by 114.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $482.73 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $464.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $421.88. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $298.86 and a 12-month high of $490.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.15 billion, a PE ratio of 52.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.36 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $477.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 over the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Investors Services. The Moody’s Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.