ING Groep NV Sells 851 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

ING Groep NV lessened its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 851 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO opened at $499.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.33, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $487.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $480.92.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. Equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCO. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $528.77.

Moody’s Company 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.