Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Has $2.63 Million Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $489.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $88.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $503.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $481.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $472.67.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.36.

Moody’s 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.