Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) CEO Michael West Sells 185 Shares of Company Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Michael West sold 185 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.88, for a total transaction of $93,772.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 8,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,244,613.12. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $503.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $477.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $467.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $86.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody’s had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.92 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.73 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $552.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $476,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,012 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 83,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,978,000 after buying an additional 27,364 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 22,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,421,000 after buying an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth $449,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.