Moody’s Corporation $MCO Stock Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its holdings in shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,929 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,321 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Moody’s were worth $32,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCO. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael L. West sold 195 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.23, for a total transaction of $103,199.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,328,572.17. The trade was a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,743 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.75, for a total value of $890,237.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares in the company, valued at $26,234,163. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 13,282 shares of company stock valued at $6,509,459 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $508.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $478.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $466.73. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.92 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCO. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $587.00 to $594.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $505.00 target price (up from $490.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $552.63.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and risk-analysis services. Through Moody’s Investors Service, it assesses the creditworthiness of businesses, governments and financial instruments, providing ratings and related research to investors and other market participants. Its Moody’s Analytics business offers data, software and analytical tools used in areas such as credit and financial risk management, compliance, and economic research. The company serves clients across international markets, including financial institutions, corporations, governments and investors.