Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Stock: Insider Robert Fauber Sells 1,743 Shares

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.75, for a total transaction of $890,237.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,234,163. This trade represents a 3.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Thursday, October 1st, Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of Moody’s stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $419,965.00.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.7%

MCO opened at $514.47 on Thursday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $477.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $466.88. The stock has a market cap of $88.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.92 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Moody’s from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Moody’s from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $552.63.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kenora Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.5% during the third quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Resolute Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted 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 worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.