Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells $710,468.10 in Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total value of $710,468.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,964 shares in the company, valued at $25,166,165.20. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Monday, June 1st, Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $665,533.89.

Moody’s Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $472.54 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $471.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.42. Moody’s had a net margin of 34.25% and a return on equity of 80.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.500-17.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.89 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 26.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $590.00 to $597.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.61.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth $267,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Moody’s by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 25,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,692,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Moody’s by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,423,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.