Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Has $15.55 Million Stock Holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,846 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE's holdings in Moody's were worth $15,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Moody's by 12.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 92,060.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $290,112,000 after buying an additional 612,200 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in Moody's by 73.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,131,656 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $534,255,000 after buying an additional 479,599 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Moody's by 13.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 416,535 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in Moody's by 510.8% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 422,624 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $200,058,000 after acquiring an additional 353,431 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $471.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 185,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,742. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The company has a market capitalization of $84.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.80, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $486.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $480.25.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $527.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.