Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 1.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,170,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 163,288 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Moody’s worth $7,228,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $426.82 on Tuesday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $500.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $495.66. The company 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 575 shares of Moody’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 directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,473,809.80. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $558.56.

About Moody’s

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.