Shell Asset Management Co. Cuts Stake in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Shell Asset Management Co. cut its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 81.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30,239 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Moody’s from $603.00 to $532.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.56.

Moody’s Stock Up 2.8%

NYSE MCO opened at $426.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $501.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $496.40.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total transaction of $305,560.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at $31,527,474.30. The trade was a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.