Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Insider Jason Phillips Sells 95 Shares of Company Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) insider Jason Phillips sold 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.33, for a total value of $49,336.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $934,274.67. This represents a 5.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock traded down $9.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $505.89. 682,444 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 920,566. The firm has a market cap of $87.22 billion, a PE ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 2.61 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $477.44 and its 200-day moving average is $467.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.92 EPS. Moody’s’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 25.11%.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Moody’s by 3.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,024,874,000 after acquiring an additional 72,043 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,420,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $643,191,000 after acquiring an additional 33,024 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $471,963,000 after purchasing an additional 454,684 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Moody’s by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,011,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $458,126,000 after purchasing an additional 168,528 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Moody’s by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $385,188,000 after purchasing an additional 59,121 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price target on Moody’s from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price objective on Moody’s from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $610.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $552.63.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.