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

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,321,046.80. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $519.18 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.07, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $486.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $480.07. Moody’s Co. has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Research analysts forecast that Moody’s Co. will post 13.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $528.77.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 14.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,263,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 2.1% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 108.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $705,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Moody’s by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 723 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 6,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,864,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.