Insider Selling: Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells $103,199.85 in Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Michael West sold 195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.23, for a total value of $103,199.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,328,572.17. This trade represents a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Moody’s Stock Down 1.8%

MCO opened at $505.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market cap of $87.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $402.28 and a 52 week high of $546.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $477.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $467.10.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 25.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 1,866.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Gen Wealth Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Balance Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Evercore increased their price target on Moody’s from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Moody’s from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $552.63.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and risk-analysis services. Through Moody’s Investors Service, it assesses the creditworthiness of businesses, governments and financial instruments, providing ratings and related research to investors and other market participants.

Its Moody’s Analytics business offers data, software and analytical tools used in areas such as credit and financial risk management, compliance, and economic research. The company serves clients across international markets, including financial institutions, corporations, governments and investors.

The company traces its roots to 1900, when John Moody began publishing financial analyses of railroad securities.