Congress Asset Management Co. Buys 2,127 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,745 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.12% of Moody's worth $105,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Moody's during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its stake in Moody's by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,005 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in Moody's by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,799 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,277,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. Finally, Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. grew its holdings in Moody's by 79.2% during the 3rd quarter. Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. now owns 4,480 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,126,000 after buying an additional 1,980 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their target price on Moody's from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Raymond James downgraded Moody's from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % 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. In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,612 shares of company stock worth $2,110,119 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of MCO stock traded down $4.92 on Thursday, hitting $454.04. The stock had a trading volume of 683,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 739,596. Moody's Co. has a 52-week low of $303.98 and a 52-week high of $495.10. The stock's 50 day moving average is $477.30 and its 200-day moving average is $440.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's payout ratio is 31.05%.

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.