Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Position Trimmed by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Sarasin & Partners LLP decreased its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 562,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 28,823 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for about 2.9% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $266,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Haverford Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% in the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. raised its stake in Moody’s by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.5% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 984 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Adero Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.8% during the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 660 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.14.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % 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. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock worth $1,178,413. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $475.74 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $480.37 and its 200-day moving average is $471.06. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $503.95. The company has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.45, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

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.