Human Investing LLC Invests $219,000 in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 461 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Moody’s by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,704 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.0% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 221,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,238,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 5.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,612 shares of company stock valued at $2,110,119. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.9 %

MCO traded up $4.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $458.35. The stock had a trading volume of 126,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 736,604. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $317.54 and a 1-year high of $495.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $476.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.31.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Raymond James cut shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Company 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.