Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stock Position Raised by Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 11.2% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 62,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,858,000 after buying an additional 6,340 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,777,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the period. Burney Co. acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $6,775,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 567.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 80,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,338,000 after acquiring an additional 68,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 430,878 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $484.60 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $480.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $472.19. The company has a market cap of $87.81 billion, a PE ratio of 44.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $503.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.43 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup began coverage on shares of 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 boosted their target price on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $29,390,984.84. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.