Retirement Systems of Alabama Grows Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $15,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 83.0% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $503.51 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $506.27. 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 stock has a market cap of $91.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $482.92 and a 200-day moving average of $475.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,387,952.46. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $540,051. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. One equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $507.36.

Moody’s 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.