Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 20.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,487 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $6,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Moody’s by 114.3% in the 2nd 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. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter worth $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $477.18 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $337.80 and a 52-week high of $495.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $474.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $444.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MCO. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Moody’s Profile

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.