Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Position Lessened by Naples Global Advisors LLC

Naples Global Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,860,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in Moody’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 27,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,210,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Panoramic Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $505.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $483.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $477.61. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $513.04.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $540,051 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MCO. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $507.36.

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.