Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Insider Jason Phillips Sells 195 Shares of Company Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) insider Jason Phillips sold 195 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.23, for a total value of $99,299.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,894 shares in the company, valued at $964,481.62. This represents a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.5%

MCO stock traded down $2.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $503.29. 911,053 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,055,550. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $477.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $467.49. The company has a market capitalization of $86.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody’s had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.92 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 25.11%.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCO. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 8.0% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 90,018 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,880,000 after acquiring an additional 6,687 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Moody’s by 4.4% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,012,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at $213,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.3% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP lifted its position in Moody’s by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 2,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $505.00 price objective (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $552.63.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.