Advisors Preferred LLC Trims Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Advisors Preferred LLC lowered its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 908 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 208 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $429,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,390,984.84. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,124 shares of company stock worth $540,051 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $503.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.98, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $482.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $476.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MCO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.