Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells $192,178.20 in Stock

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, February 18th, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02.
• On Wednesday, January 15th, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22.
• 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.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $401.74 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $72.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $482.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $478.96.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup began coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCO. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.