Robert Fauber Sells 1,467 Shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $665,533.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,564 shares in the company, valued at $23,846,709.88. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Friday, May 1st, Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13.
• On Wednesday, April 1st, Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.77, for a total transaction of $642,208.59.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.1%

MCO stock opened at $448.59 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.35. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $446.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $526.00 to $489.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.29.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 15.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 6.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.8% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,692,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 0.4% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

More Moody’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting Moody’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Moody’s will host a June 8 Q&A session focused on its generative AI strategy, including partnerships and product innovation. That could reassure investors that the company is investing in higher-growth, technology-enabled offerings. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain moderately optimistic on MCO, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and price targets above the current share price, which may help support the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Moody’s chief economist warning that a potential Iran war could cost U.S. households about $100 billion is more of a macro commentary than a direct company-specific catalyst, so its stock impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by CEO Robert Fauber and SVP Richard Steele may create a modest negative signal, even though both transactions were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Moody’s has lagged the broader broker-dealers and securities exchanges group over the past year, and that relative underperformance may be keeping some investors cautious. Article Title

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.