Insider Selling: Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells 415 Shares of Stock

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Tuesday, February 18th, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCO traded up $2.88 on Wednesday, reaching $471.66. 638,797 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 744,084. Moody’s Co. has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $84.85 billion, a PE ratio of 41.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $485.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $479.86.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. Equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $527.00.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 101.9% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.