Insider Selling: Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Insider Sells $99,299.85 in Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) insider Jason Phillips sold 195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $509.23, for a total transaction of $99,299.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,481.62. The trade was a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $514.77 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $477.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $467.15. The company has a market capitalization of $88.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.92 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Moody’s from $597.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $552.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kenora Financial LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1.5% during the third quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in Moody’s by 3.8% in the first quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 623 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Moody’s by 1.2% in the third quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.5% in the third quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 1,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.