Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Position Cut by Alpha Cubed Investments LLC

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 511 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 22 shares during the quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Moody’s by 11.2% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 62,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,858,000 after purchasing an additional 6,340 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the period. Burney Co. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth $6,775,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 567.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 80,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,338,000 after buying an additional 68,674 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 22.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,344,000 after buying an additional 430,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $484.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $87.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $480.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $471.73. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,524 shares of company stock worth $1,178,413 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.36.

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.