Moody’s Corporation $MCO Shares Purchased by MCF Advisors LLC

MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 51.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $3,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCO. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Moody’s from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $453.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.48, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.44. 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 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $508.26 and a 200-day moving average of $499.41.

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.