Insider Selling: Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells 1,167 Shares of Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total transaction of $558,934.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares in the company, valued at $29,255,223.90. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Tuesday, October 28th, Robert Fauber sold 546 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.90, for a total transaction of $269,669.40.
• On Wednesday, October 15th, Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.09, for a total transaction of $199,652.35.
• On Monday, September 15th, Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.65, for a total transaction of $212,749.75.
• On Friday, August 15th, Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total transaction of $216,401.75.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $487.64. 1,100,665 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 800,884. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $489.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $488.35. The firm has a market cap of $87.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 63.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.500-14.750 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 21st. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $534.00 to $507.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $539.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $543.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 128.7% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 97.7% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 11.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 12,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the period. A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $264,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 14.5% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 52,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,299,000 after purchasing an additional 6,663 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.