Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.

Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,584 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,403 shares during the quarter. Moody's comprises about 7.2% of Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. owned about 0.08% of Moody's worth $71,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Haverford Trust Co raised its stake in Moody's by 1.8% in the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $580,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its stake in Moody's by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Moody's by 2.5% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 984 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 3.8% in the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 660 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded up $4.67 on Tuesday, reaching $462.55. 393,142 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 597,804. The firm's 50 day moving average is $479.92 and its 200-day moving average is $470.30. The firm has a market cap of $83.81 billion, a PE ratio of 42.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $503.95.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.43 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,243 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,326. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Moody's from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup started coverage on Moody's in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.14.

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.