Moody's Corporation $MCO Stock: Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd Cuts Stake

Key Points

• Windmill Hill Asset Management cut its Moody’s stake by 23.6% in the third quarter, selling 2,573 shares and retaining 8,339 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.11% of MCO.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with 13 Buy ratings and seven Holds. Moody’s has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $552.63.
• Moody’s reported quarterly EPS of $4.14, below the $4.25 consensus estimate, while revenue of $2.02 billion also missed expectations. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03, equivalent to a 0.8% annualized yield.

Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,339 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,573 shares during the quarter. Moody's accounts for 0.8% of Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Windmill Hill Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Moody's were worth $3,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 87.1% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 1,866.7% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Moody's in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $505.00 target price (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $587.00 to $594.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Moody's from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Moody's from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $552.63.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $488.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $84.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's fifty day moving average is $477.40 and its 200-day moving average is $467.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Moody's Corporation has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody's had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Moody's's payout ratio is 25.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $419,965.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,370,620. The trade was a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Profile

Moody's Corporation NYSE: MCO is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody's Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody's Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody's traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.

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