Advisory Alpha LLC Increases Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Advisory Alpha LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,524 shares of company stock worth $1,178,413. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup began 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. UBS Group boosted 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.36.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of MCO opened at $484.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.26, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $480.50 and a 200 day moving average of $472.10. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $503.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

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.