Tidal Investments LLC Has $26.36 Million Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 538.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 46,843 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $26,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Haverford Trust Co increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% in the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its position in Moody’s by 3.0% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 2.1% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. increased its position in Moody’s by 0.8% during the third quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,313,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Moody’s by 1.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MCO traded down $1.56 on Thursday, hitting $495.97. 38,201 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 726,960. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $503.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $477.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $459.35. The company has a market capitalization of $89.87 billion, a PE ratio of 45.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

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.