Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Shares Sold by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Motco lifted its holdings 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 boosted its holdings in 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. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Moody’s by 0.8% during the first 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 period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 9.3% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,046 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,774,000 after acquiring an additional 2,988 shares during the period. Finally, Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 26.6% in the first quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 7,441 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $477.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $86.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $337.80 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $474.46 and a 200 day moving average of $444.01.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.