Hexagon Capital Partners LLC Sells 27 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 7.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 324 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $469.40 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $298.86 and a twelve month high of $495.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $473.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $431.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $85.71 billion, a PE ratio of 51.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Moody’s from $492.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $487.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This 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 can be accessed through this link. In related 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 value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.