Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells 9,946 Shares of Company Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Michael West sold 9,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total value of $4,853,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 8,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,176,792. The trade was a 53.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Moody’s stock traded up $4.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $493.80. 1,630,416 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,056,926. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $477.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.35. Moody’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $402.28 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 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 company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is presently 25.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Moody’s from $597.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Moody’s from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $552.63.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $914,721,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,963,000 after purchasing an additional 454,684 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 5,102.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 286,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $124,860,000 after acquiring an additional 280,712 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 21,256.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 255,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,803,000 after acquiring an additional 253,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 275.2% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 319,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $144,884,000 after acquiring an additional 234,640 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.