Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC Sells 232 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 16.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 232 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Conning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.0% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.1% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 2.6% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 960 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Moody’s by 0.5% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $477.18 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $474.46 and its 200-day moving average is $444.44. Moody’s Co. has a one year low of $337.80 and a one year high of $495.10. The firm has a market cap of $86.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 31.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $500.00.

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.