Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 31,182 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Ninety One UK Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,517,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 31,182 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up 1.9% of Ninety One UK Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $718,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 74,000.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,935,000 after acquiring an additional 723,721 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 12.3% during the 3rd 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted 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 buying an additional 502,891 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $1,107,344,000 after buying an additional 430,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 416,535 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $493.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $89.44 billion, a PE ratio of 45.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $483.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $475.16. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $505.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,390,984.84. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $540,051 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.