Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Holdings Boosted by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 224,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,183 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.12% of Moody’s worth $106,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’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 value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 843 shares of company stock valued at $405,455. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.9 %

Moody’s stock opened at $522.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $94.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $484.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $478.65.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MCO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $522.62.

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.