Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Purchased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,372 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $15,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BAM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $871,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 647,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.1% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 73,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 135.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,837,000 after purchasing an additional 26,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,574,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,291,568,000 after purchasing an additional 35,123 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $426.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $501.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $496.40. The stock has a market cap of $76.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 575 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.90, for a total transaction of $286,867.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,473,809.80. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $540.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.56.

Moody’s Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.