Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC Takes $604,000 Position in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,434 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $604,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 533.5% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,666 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,455 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,349,000 after buying an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 1,427 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Moody's by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,451 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Moody's Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE MCO traded up $2.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $484.33. The company had a trading volume of 577,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,234. The firm's 50 day moving average is $455.23 and its 200 day moving average is $415.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. Moody's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $298.86 and a fifty-two week high of $490.18. The company has a market capitalization of $88.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.28.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Moody's's payout ratio is 37.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Moody's from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Moody's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $460.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.