Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 204 Shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,143 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Moody’s by 80.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66% 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. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $470.64 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $464.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $472.90. The company has a market cap of $84.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $378.71 and a 1 year high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.15% and a return on equity of 60.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 32.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $489.00 to $523.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.40.

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.