ProShare Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,304 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $14,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $987,524,000. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $135,968,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $7,527,360,000 after acquiring an additional 191,368 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 223.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 102,126 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,225,000 after acquiring an additional 184,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 91.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 235,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $117,987,000 after acquiring an additional 112,105 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Daiwa Securities Group raised Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Raymond James Financial raised Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Moody’s from $520.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558.56.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $418.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $506.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $498.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.70 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.44. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $546.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 575 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.90, for a total value of $286,867.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,473,809.80. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.