GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 547 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 547 shares during the period. Moody’s accounts for approximately 0.8% of GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $17,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 74,000.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $343,935,000 after acquiring an additional 723,721 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 723,226 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Moody’s by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $985,115,000 after buying an additional 502,891 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,107,344,000 after buying an additional 430,878 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 13.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 416,535 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $495.40 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $482.89 and a 200-day moving average of $475.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $505.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $540,051. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.