Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,063 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,331 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for approximately 1.8% of Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $22,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 83.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $10.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $472.93. 24,688 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 533,928. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $479.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $470.30. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $503.95. The stock has a market cap of $85.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.19, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.43 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,390,984.84. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,243 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,326. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.14.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.