Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. State Street Corp raised its position in Moody’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,047,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,344,802,000 after purchasing an additional 63,556 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 12.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,123,294,000 after buying an additional 723,226 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,708,851,000 after acquiring an additional 416,535 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 22.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,107,344,000 after acquiring an additional 430,878 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Moody’s by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $985,115,000 after acquiring an additional 502,891 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.1 %

MCO stock opened at $503.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.24 billion, a PE ratio of 45.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $506.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $482.99 and a 200 day moving average of $476.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,601,631.48. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $540,051. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.