Avanza Fonder AB Cuts Stock Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Avanza Fonder AB decreased its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $5,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,690,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.40.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $485.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $87.38 billion, a PE ratio of 43.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.39. 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 12 month low of $378.71 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $455.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $473.61.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. On average, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

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.