Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Patton Fund Management Inc.

Patton Fund Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,072 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,208 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCO. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 547 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in Moody’s by 9.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Moody’s by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Moody’s by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMS Capital Management lifted its stake in Moody’s by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 4,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 843 shares of company stock worth $401,119. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $507.36.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $493.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.33 billion, a PE ratio of 45.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 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 current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $481.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.88.

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.