Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Fiera Capital Corp

Fiera Capital Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,038,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 129,555 shares during the quarter. Moody’s makes up about 4.5% of Fiera Capital Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,438,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Moody’s by 14.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,263,000 after buying an additional 2,933 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 674 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Magnus Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $291,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter worth approximately $204,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $540,051 in the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCO. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.36.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $505.28 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $483.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $477.61. The stock has a market cap of $91.56 billion, a PE ratio of 46.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. 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 Co. has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $513.04.

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.