LGT Group Foundation Sells 3,424 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

LGT Group Foundation trimmed its position in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,598 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,424 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in Moody's were worth $9,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Moody's by 92,060.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $290,112,000 after buying an additional 612,200 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Moody's by 32.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $985,115,000 after buying an additional 502,891 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 22.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,107,344,000 after buying an additional 430,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,708,851,000 after acquiring an additional 416,535 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock traded down $2.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $501.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,189,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 787,410. The firm's 50-day moving average is $489.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $482.41. The company has a market cap of $90.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93. 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 (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. On average, research analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $528.77.

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.