BSW Wealth Partners Purchases 77 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

BSW Wealth Partners boosted its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the quarter. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in Moody’s were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Moody’s by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 87,798 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,562,000 after buying an additional 4,221 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $474,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 169 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 843 shares of company stock worth $401,119 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $489.42 on Thursday. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $503.95. 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 company has a market cap of $88.68 billion, a PE ratio of 44.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $481.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $473.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.36.

Moody’s 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.