Smith Group Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 112.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter worth $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 843 shares of company stock valued at $401,119 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $493.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $481.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $473.88. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $503.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.36.

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.