Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 2,798 Shares of Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,798 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $25,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 7,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,712,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 2.0% in the second quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 50.0% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 66 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in 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 valued at $2,383,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $524.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $528.00 target price on Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.94.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the firm’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 owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,255,223.90. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,739 shares of company stock worth $841,445 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $523.58 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $505.23 and a 200-day moving average of $499.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The firm has a market cap of $93.41 billion, a PE ratio of 42.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.45.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.