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 Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Robert Fauber also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, January 2nd, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66.
• On Friday, November 15th, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $475.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market cap of $86.20 billion, a PE ratio of 43.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $503.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $480.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $470.75.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. 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 prior year, the company posted $2.43 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Moody’s by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on MCO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.14.

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.