Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Bought by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,663 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $25,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,006,997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,527,360,000 after buying an additional 191,368 shares during the period. TCI Fund Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.6% during the second quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 13,246,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,644,552,000 after acquiring an additional 83,872 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,888,788 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,943,418,000 after acquiring an additional 69,455 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in Moody’s by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,574,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,291,568,000 after purchasing an additional 35,123 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $987,524,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Moody’s from $540.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total value of $558,934.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at $29,255,223.90. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.0%

MCO opened at $515.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 41.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $509.66 and a 200-day moving average of $500.42.

Moody’s Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.