Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells $93,772.80 in Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Michael West sold 185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.88, for a total value of $93,772.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,244,613.12. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $514.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $477.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $467.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $597.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Moody’s from $587.00 to $594.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $552.63.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 15.0% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 9,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,055 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,566,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 12.0% during the third quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 3,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,565,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Moody’s by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. now owns 361 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.