Apollon Wealth Management LLC Sells 274 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 274 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $2,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in Moody’s in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE MCO opened at $479.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $344.60 and a 52 week high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $474.15 and a 200-day moving average of $446.31.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company’s revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s 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.