Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells $134,596.19 in Stock

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $471.94. 523,934 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 738,172. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a market cap of $85.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.22, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $355.77 and a 1 year high of $495.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $473.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $448.55.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Raymond James lowered Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $500.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Haverford Trust Co raised its stake in Moody’s by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Conning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.1% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc. now owns 2,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,313,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 1.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.