Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stake Lessened by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP lessened its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 88.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,184 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 74,000.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,935,000 after purchasing an additional 723,721 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 12.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Moody’s by 32.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $985,115,000 after purchasing an additional 502,891 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 22.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,344,000 after purchasing an additional 430,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 13.0% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 416,535 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $527.78 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $528.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $95.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.20, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $483.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $477.80.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 843 shares of company stock valued at $405,455. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Moody’s Company 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.