Progressive Investment Management Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Progressive Investment Management Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 677 shares during the quarter. Moody’s accounts for approximately 4.3% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $16,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $988,750,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 92,060.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,112,000 after acquiring an additional 612,200 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $534,255,000 after purchasing an additional 479,599 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Moody’s by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,708,851,000 after purchasing an additional 416,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its position in Moody’s by 510.8% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 422,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $200,058,000 after purchasing an additional 353,431 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $461.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $82.95 billion, a PE ratio of 40.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $485.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $480.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com cut Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $527.00.

About Moody’s

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.