Hartford Investment Management Co. Cuts Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 232 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Moody’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,047,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,344,802,000 after acquiring an additional 63,556 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 12.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,708,851,000 after purchasing an additional 416,535 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,344,000 after buying an additional 430,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Moody’s by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $985,115,000 after buying an additional 502,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $505.28 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $483.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $477.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.14, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $513.04.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MCO shares. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.36.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $540,051. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.