Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells $199,652.35 in Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.09, for a total transaction of $199,652.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,385,939.38. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, September 15th, Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $512.65, for a total transaction of $212,749.75.
• On Friday, August 15th, Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of Moody’s stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.45, for a total transaction of $216,401.75.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $470.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $531.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a PE ratio of 39.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $497.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $482.83.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.28 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.500-14.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $987,524,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at about $328,595,000. Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at about $135,968,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 21.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,530,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $712,777,000 after buying an additional 265,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 10.3% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,311,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,159,185,000 after buying an additional 215,551 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCO. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $531.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $532.00 to $539.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.87.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody’s Analytics and Moody’s Investors Services. The Moody’s Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.