Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) CEO Michael West Sells 195 Shares of Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Michael West sold 195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.23, for a total transaction of $103,199.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,328,572.17. This trade represents a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Moody’s Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE MCO opened at $514.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $477.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

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

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,024,874,000 after acquiring an additional 72,043 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 72.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 454,684 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Moody’s by 20.0% during the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Moody’s by 7.2% during the first 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Moody’s from $587.00 to $594.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $555.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $552.63.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.