Sowell Financial Services LLC Buys Shares of 1,328 Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO)

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,328 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $619,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 528 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Moody's by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,386 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,111,000 after buying an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Moody's by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,056 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,355,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Moody's by 21.4% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,452 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raub Brock Capital Management LP bought a new position in Moody's during the first quarter worth about $15,896,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,445,682. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Moody's from $575.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $519.40.

Moody's Stock Down 0.1%

MCO stock opened at $470.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $465.24 and a 200-day moving average of $472.72. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Moody's's payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MCO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.