26,344 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO Purchased by Kinsale Capital Group Inc.

Kinsale Capital Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 26,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,964,000. Moody’s comprises 1.6% of Kinsale Capital Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,024,874,000 after purchasing an additional 72,043 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,420,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $643,191,000 after purchasing an additional 33,024 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 72.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,963,000 after purchasing an additional 454,684 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Moody’s by 20.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,011,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $458,126,000 after purchasing an additional 168,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Moody’s by 7.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,188,000 after purchasing an additional 59,121 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael L. West sold 9,946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,176,792. The trade was a 53.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason D. Phillips sold 195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $509.23, for a total value of $99,299.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,481.62. The trade was a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 11,539 shares of company stock worth $5,619,222 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.8%

MCO opened at $509.60 on Tuesday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $477.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $467.02. The company has a market cap of $87.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly 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). 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MCO. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Evercore upped their target price on Moody’s from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Moody’s from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.