Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 71.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,402 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,103 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $1,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 80.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCO. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho began coverage on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.87.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,392 shares of company stock worth $659,535 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $447.93. The stock had a trading volume of 197,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 775,905. The firm has a market cap of $80.58 billion, a PE ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $452.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $472.60. 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 $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

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.