Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Purchased by Crown Oak Advisors LLC

Crown Oak Advisors LLC raised its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,817 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises about 3.9% of Crown Oak Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Crown Oak Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $7,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the third quarter worth $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 83.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $485.84 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $503.95. The company has a market capitalization of $88.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.37, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $480.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $472.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCO. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $507.36.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,524 shares of company stock valued at $1,178,413 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.