Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Holdings in Moody’s Corporation $MCO

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 11.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,088 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $7,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCO. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $603.00 to $532.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $574.00 price objective on Moody’s and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558.56.

Moody’s Stock Up 2.8%

Moody’s stock opened at $426.82 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $501.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $496.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market cap of $76.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 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 at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 575 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.90, for a total transaction of $286,867.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,473,809.80. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.