Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells $146,738.20 in Stock

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• 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 shares were 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 shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $519.18. The stock had a trading volume of 655,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,694. The company has a market cap of $94.08 billion, a PE ratio of 46.07, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $486.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $479.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Moody’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. On average, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 30.17%.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $528.77.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.