Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells $684,194.13 in Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• 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 value of $642,208.59.
• On Tuesday, March 3rd, Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23.
• On Tuesday, February 3rd, Robert Fauber sold 575 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.90, for a total value of $286,867.50.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $448.60 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $448.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $475.70. The company has a market capitalization of $78.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. DeDora Capital Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 753 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in Moody’s by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, EWA LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MCO. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.29.

About Moody’s

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.