Stephen T. Tulenko Sells 500 Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stock

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $464.45 on Wednesday. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $466.92. The company has a market capitalization of $84.81 billion, a PE ratio of 50.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $434.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $405.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCO. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 16,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,942 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,689 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in Moody’s by 392.6% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 24,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,634,000 after acquiring an additional 19,660 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Moody’s by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 679,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $265,285,000 after acquiring an additional 14,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motco lifted its position in Moody’s by 9,756.3% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $456.00.

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.