Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) CEO Michael West Sells 9,946 Shares of Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Michael West sold 9,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total value of $4,853,648.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 8,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,176,792. This trade represents a 53.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $493.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $477.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $467.63. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of 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, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $552.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 4.5% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter worth approximately $287,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 8.5% in the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,145,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares during the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, Associated Banc Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth approximately $4,807,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Moody’s

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.