Apollon Wealth Management LLC Has $1.74 Million Position in Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) by 50.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,451 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $1,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Lincoln National Corp raised its holdings in Moody’s by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 1,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in Moody’s by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 12,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,824,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,137,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $393.94. 123,203 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 730,124. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $384.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $375.15. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $298.86 and a twelve month high of $407.62. The company has a market cap of $71.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.02, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.26.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The business services provider reported $3.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.31. Moody’s had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 54.50%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Moody’s from $355.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $411.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Moody’s from $350.00 to $374.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $420.00 to $410.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $400.50.

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.