Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,063 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,331 shares during the period. Moody's makes up approximately 1.8% of Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $22,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Moody's by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 272.2% in the third 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 during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in Moody's by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Moody's by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody's in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $521.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody's from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $506.14.

Moody's Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $9.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $471.69. 681,906 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 607,143. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $503.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $479.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $470.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $85.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody's had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,243 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,326. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.