Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by GHP Investment Advisors Inc.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 547 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for 0.8% of GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $17,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Moody’s by 566.7% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter worth $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE MCO opened at $495.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $89.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.24, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $482.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $475.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $505.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,390,984.84. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $540,051. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MCO. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.36.

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.