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

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

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

• 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 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 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 value of $133,435.66.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $511.27 on Friday. Moody’s Co. has a 1 year low of $360.05 and a 1 year high of $531.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $480.29. The company has a market cap of $92.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.37, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 30.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted 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, January 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $528.77.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Carson Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.