Insider Selling: Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells 281 Shares of Stock

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $474.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $473.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $450.02. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $358.49 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.34, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. Moody’s’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.43 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MCO. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCO. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Moody’s by 114.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.