Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) is Progressive Investment Management Corp’s 7th Largest Position

Progressive Investment Management Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 4.3% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s portfolio, 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.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Moody’s by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,696,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,956,684,000 after purchasing an additional 63,820 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,047,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,344,802,000 after acquiring an additional 63,556 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 13.0% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 416,535 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $988,750,000. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,537,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $727,726,000 after acquiring an additional 53,504 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $461.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $485.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $480.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.94 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. 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 dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $527.00.

Moody’s Company 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.