CENTRAL TRUST Co Sells 144 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lessened its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Haverford Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 984 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $496.81 on Tuesday. 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 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $505.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.02 billion, a PE ratio of 45.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $483.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $474.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 843 shares of company stock valued at $401,119. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.