Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Stock: Insider Jason Phillips Sells 95 Shares

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) insider Jason Phillips sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.33, for a total value of $49,336.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,799 shares in the company, valued at $934,274.67. The trade was a 5.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $505.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $87.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $402.28 and a 1 year high of $546.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $477.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $467.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 25.11%.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 87.1% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1,866.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth $27,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth $40,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Moody’s from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $552.63.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and risk-analysis services. Through Moody’s Investors Service, it assesses the creditworthiness of businesses, governments and financial instruments, providing ratings and related research to investors and other market participants.

Its Moody’s Analytics business offers data, software and analytical tools used in areas such as credit and financial risk management, compliance, and economic research. The company serves clients across international markets, including financial institutions, corporations, governments and investors.

The company traces its roots to 1900, when John Moody began publishing financial analyses of railroad securities.