New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 5.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 209,911 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $100,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $574.00 target price on shares of Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.94.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE MCO opened at $515.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.41, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $546.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $508.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $500.30.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total transaction of $558,934.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,255,223.90. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.