Empirical Finance LLC Has $2.55 Million Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Empirical Finance LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,394 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 566.7% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 272.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 83.0% in the third 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 shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $503.51 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $482.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $476.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.98, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $506.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $540,051 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research 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 $507.36.

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.