Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,144 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $512.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $513.04. The company has a market capitalization of $92.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $483.12 and a 200 day moving average of $477.16.

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.