Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Bowie Capital Management LLC

Bowie Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,970 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,302 shares during the quarter. Moody's makes up 3.4% of Bowie Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Bowie Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Moody's worth $64,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Carson Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Moody's by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Moody's by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.87.

Moody's Stock Up 1.2 %

Moody's stock traded up $5.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $468.65. 827,699 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 771,367. The company has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a PE ratio of 41.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The company's fifty day moving average price is $447.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $471.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. On average, research analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,111 shares of company stock worth $520,603 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is 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.