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

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,390,984.84. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

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

Moody’s Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $479.15 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 12-month low of $360.05 and a 12-month high of $503.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $479.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $467.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in 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 buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Raymond James lowered Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.14.

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.