Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 29,977 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 15.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 168,419 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29,977 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Moody’s worth $80,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 7,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,712,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,383,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its holdings in Moody’s by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total transaction of $558,934.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,255,223.90. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,739 shares of company stock valued at $841,445. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $523.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market cap of $93.41 billion, a PE ratio of 42.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $505.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $499.82. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 63.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 target price on shares of Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $524.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.94.

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.