Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Boston Financial Mangement LLC

Boston Financial Mangement LLC trimmed its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,996 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,703 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $23,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Moody's by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 61,953 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,327,000 after acquiring an additional 9,830 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody's by 14,007.0% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 80,551 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,130,000 after purchasing an additional 79,980 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 229,921 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $108,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,796 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in Moody's by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 6,703 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,173,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Moody's in the fourth quarter valued at about $90,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO stock traded down $12.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $499.62. 1,348,207 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 754,611. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93. The firm has a market cap of $89.93 billion, a PE ratio of 44.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The company's fifty day moving average price is $486.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $480.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 expect that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 30.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Moody's from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $528.77.

Moody's Company 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.