Hexagon Capital Partners LLC Purchases 46 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Strategic Advocates LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $738,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMS Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.7% in the first quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 4,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO traded up $5.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $464.93. 649,043 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 740,371. The company has a market capitalization of $84.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.76, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $432.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $404.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $465.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $448.50.

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.