Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,881 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 903 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado's holdings in Moody's were worth $10,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at about $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 valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 research note on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.87.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded up $13.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $465.35. The stock had a trading volume of 733,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 773,315. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $377.90 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market cap of $83.72 billion, a PE ratio of 41.29, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $450.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $472.28.

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

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. 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.