PDS Planning Inc Has $479,000 Stock Holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

PDS Planning Inc lowered its holdings in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 31 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCO. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Moody’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,047,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,344,802,000 after purchasing an additional 63,556 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,708,851,000 after acquiring an additional 416,535 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 22.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,107,344,000 after acquiring an additional 430,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 32.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $985,115,000 after acquiring an additional 502,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $450.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $80.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.95, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $485.94 and a 200 day moving average of $480.94. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, research analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $527.00.

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.