Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 65.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,405 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 50,145 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Moody's were worth $12,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new stake in Moody's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Moody's stock traded up $7.15 on Thursday, reaching $437.92. The company had a trading volume of 343,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 777,760. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $458.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $473.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. Moody's Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $78.78 billion, a PE ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.36%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total value of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.87.

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.