Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Position Lessened by Carderock Capital Management Inc.

Carderock Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for 2.3% of Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $9,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Haverford Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.5% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 984 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adero Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% during the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 660 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE MCO opened at $475.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $480.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.37. The stock has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.45, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $503.95. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.17 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,390,984.84. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James lowered Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.14.

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.