Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Private Trust Co. NA

Private Trust Co. NA lowered its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 469 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $222,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Moody’s by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,861,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 11.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,775,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $501.19 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $490.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $482.65. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $90.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $528.77.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $32,321,046.80. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. 0.07% of the stock is currently 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.