Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 13,187 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Cresset Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 71.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 13,187 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,956,684,000 after acquiring an additional 63,820 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,680,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,738,645,000 after purchasing an additional 68,627 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $988,750,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $841,050,000 after buying an additional 302,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,537,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $727,726,000 after buying an additional 53,504 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $471.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.81, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $446.66 and a 200 day moving average of $471.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MCO. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Moody’s from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.87.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,111 shares of company stock valued at $520,603 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.