Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 17.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,199 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,514 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $3,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCO. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at $594,000. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Moody's by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 1,419 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Moody's by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,685 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 38,650 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,191,000 after purchasing an additional 3,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Moody's by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Moody's news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,612 shares of company stock valued at $2,110,119 in the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Moody's from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Raymond James downgraded Moody's from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Moody's from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Moody's from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO traded up $2.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $456.36. 582,578 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 760,369. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $476.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $441.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $317.54 and a 1-year high of $495.10.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

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.