Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Short Interest Down 17.2% in January

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,105,494 shares, a decrease of 17.2% from the January 15th total of 2,541,719 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 688,364 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 688,364 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total transaction of $305,560.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,527,474.30. This trade represents a 0.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC now owns 18,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,515,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 26,124 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,345,000 after buying an additional 1,171 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 2,093.5% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,847,000 after acquiring an additional 27,739 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 65,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,539,000 after buying an additional 13,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 331.7% during the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 155,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $79,624,000 after acquiring an additional 119,757 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $540.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $603.00 to $532.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.56.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO traded up $11.73 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $426.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,272,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,452,908. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $500.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $495.66. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Moody’s Company 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.