Seilern Investment Management Ltd Makes New $10.54 Million Investment in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 22,268 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,541,000. Moody’s accounts for about 0.6% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in Moody’s by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock worth $1,178,413. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $475.74 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $503.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $480.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $471.06.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.14.

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.