Alps Advisors Inc. Sells 4,750 Shares of Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Alps Advisors reduced its Moody’s stake by 24.2%, selling 4,750 shares in the third quarter and ending with 14,849 shares valued at about $6.74 million.
• Moody’s quarterly results fell short of expectations: EPS was $4.14 versus the $4.25 consensus, while revenue of $2.02 billion missed the $2.08 billion forecast.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $552.63; Moody’s also declared a $1.03 quarterly dividend.

Alps Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,849 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,750 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $6,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nykredit A S bought a new position in Moody's during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,897,000. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Moody's by 0.3% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 500,927 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $226,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Moody's in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,083,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in Moody's by 806.7% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 9,239 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,031,000 after purchasing an additional 8,220 shares during the period. Finally, Ironvine Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ironvine Capital Partners LLC now owns 85,200 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,589,000 after buying an additional 3,353 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $505.89 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $87.22 billion, a PE ratio of 30.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. Moody's Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $477.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $467.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.92 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.11%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CEO Michael L. West sold 9,946 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total transaction of $4,853,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 8,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,176,792. This trade represents a 53.75% 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 Jason D. Phillips sold 195 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $509.23, for a total value of $99,299.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,894 shares in the company, valued at $964,481.62. This trade represents a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,539 shares of company stock valued at $5,619,222. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $490.00 to $511.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $552.63.

Moody's Profile

Moody's Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and risk-analysis services. Through Moody's Investors Service, it assesses the creditworthiness of businesses, governments and financial instruments, providing ratings and related research to investors and other market participants.

Its Moody's Analytics business offers data, software and analytical tools used in areas such as credit and financial risk management, compliance, and economic research. The company serves clients across international markets, including financial institutions, corporations, governments and investors.

The company traces its roots to 1900, when John Moody began publishing financial analyses of railroad securities.

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