Bleakley Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,510 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Moody’s by 566.7% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 272.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other Moody’s 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 transaction of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $540,051. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE MCO opened at $503.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.98, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $482.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $475.85. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $506.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.36.

About Moody’s

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.