Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber Sells 281 Shares of Stock

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Robert Fauber also recently made the following trade(s):

• 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.
• On Friday, November 15th, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $479.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $480.13 and its 200-day moving average is $470.31. The company has a market cap of $86.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.75, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody’s Co. has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $503.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Co. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James lowered Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 938 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 16,289 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891 shares in the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,541,000. Smart Money Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 432 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.