Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) is Progressive Investment Management Corp’s 6th Largest Position

Progressive Investment Management Corp decreased its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 375 shares during the quarter. Moody’s comprises about 4.4% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $17,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $468.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.93 billion, a PE ratio of 42.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $473.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $449.84. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $355.77 and a 52 week high of $495.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.