Fiera Capital Corp Cuts Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Fiera Capital Corp trimmed its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,038,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 129,555 shares during the period. Moody’s comprises 4.5% of Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Fiera Capital Corp owned approximately 1.68% of Moody’s worth $1,438,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Moody’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,047,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,344,802,000 after purchasing an additional 63,556 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,123,294,000 after buying an additional 723,226 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 13.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,708,851,000 after buying an additional 416,535 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 22.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,107,344,000 after acquiring an additional 430,878 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Moody’s by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $985,115,000 after acquiring an additional 502,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MCO. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup began coverage on Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.36.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $505.28 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $483.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $477.61. The company 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. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $513.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $540,051 over the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.