Kinsale Capital Group Inc. Acquires New Position in Moody's Corporation $MCO

Key Points

• Kinsale Capital initiated a Moody’s position in the third quarter, purchasing 26,344 shares valued at about $12.0 million. The holding represents 1.6% of Kinsale’s portfolio.
• Moody’s quarterly results fell short of analyst expectations: earnings per share were $4.14 versus $4.25 expected, and revenue was $2.02 billion versus $2.08 billion expected. Revenue was up 0.8% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $552.63; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share.

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. bought a new position in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 26,344 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,964,000. Moody's makes up 1.6% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,897,000. National Pension Service raised its stake in Moody's by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 500,927 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $226,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in Moody's by 806.7% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 9,239 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,031,000 after acquiring an additional 8,220 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,083,000. Finally, Ironvine Capital Partners LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 3,353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE MCO opened at $509.60 on Tuesday. Moody's Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $87.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $477.32 and a 200 day moving average of $467.02.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In related news, insider Jason Phillips sold 95 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.33, for a total transaction of $49,336.35. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $934,274.67. This trade represents a 5.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael West sold 195 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.23, for a total value of $103,199.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 8,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,328,572.17. This represents a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 11,539 shares of company stock worth $5,619,222 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Weiss Ratings raised Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Moody's from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody's in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $490.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $552.63.

About Moody's

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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