Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,354 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,300 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.08% of Moody's worth $66,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Carson Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,327,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Up 1.1 %

MCO traded up $4.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $444.44. 223,859 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 777,260. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $453.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $472.78. The company has a market cap of $79.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. As a group, analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.87.

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.