Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Position Decreased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 39,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,920 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $18,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Moody’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,047,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,344,802,000 after buying an additional 63,556 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 12.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,708,851,000 after acquiring an additional 416,535 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,344,000 after acquiring an additional 430,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $985,115,000 after purchasing an additional 502,891 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, 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 have sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MCO opened at $489.21 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $481.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $472.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.68, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.