Congress Asset Management Co. Has $105.24 Million Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 1.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 221,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $105,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Motco increased its stake in Moody’s by 9,756.3% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 52.2% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,844,000 after buying an additional 12,099 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 38,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,191,000 after purchasing an additional 3,169 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 52,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,673,000 after purchasing an additional 21,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,613,867,000 after buying an additional 119,450 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s 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 transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,612 shares of company stock worth $2,110,119. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $457.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 65,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 736,643. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $477.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $440.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $303.98 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.10, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

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.