Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by General Partner Inc.

General Partner Inc. trimmed its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises approximately 1.1% of General Partner Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. General Partner Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.00.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $3.12 on Friday, reaching $475.96. 54,385 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 235,804. The company has a 50-day moving average of $478.69 and a 200-day moving average of $467.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market cap of $86.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $503.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.