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

Progressive Investment Management Corp decreased its holdings in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,293 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 677 shares during the period. Moody's comprises approximately 4.3% of Progressive Investment Management Corp's investment 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.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $273,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Moody's by 10.7% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 722 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in Moody's by 31.9% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,051 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Moody's by 9.4% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,880 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

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Moody's Stock Performance

MCO traded up $2.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $470.84. 233,966 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 742,547. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $485.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $479.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. Moody's Co. has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho began coverage on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $527.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.