Insider Selling: Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells $146,738.20 in Stock

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total transaction of $146,738.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, February 3rd, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 value of $133,435.66.

Moody’s Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $499.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $89.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.33, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $487.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $480.70. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $531.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 30.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $528.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 566.7% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 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.