Insight Wealth Strategies LLC Sells 262 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Insight Wealth Strategies LLC trimmed its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 262 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $4,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 74,000.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,935,000 after acquiring an additional 723,721 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Moody’s by 32.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $985,115,000 after purchasing an additional 502,891 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 22.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,344,000 after purchasing an additional 430,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,708,851,000 after purchasing an additional 416,535 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock traded down $4.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $474.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 215,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 348,061. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $479.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $468.19. The company has a market cap of $86.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.37, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $503.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MCO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI began coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,390,984.84. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,243 shares of company stock worth $1,045,326 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.