Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber Sells 5,213 Shares

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, February 3rd, Robert Fauber sold 575 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.90, for a total value of $286,867.50.
• On Monday, February 2nd, Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total value of $305,560.80.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO traded up $6.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $471.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,395,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,372,244. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $83.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $491.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $490.99. Moody’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $378.71 and a 12-month high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.62 EPS. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $515.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,802,195,000 after purchasing an additional 102,682 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 13,246,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,644,552,000 after purchasing an additional 83,872 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,965,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,019,551,000 after purchasing an additional 42,966 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,574,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,291,568,000 after buying an additional 35,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Moody’s by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,661,000 after buying an additional 111,725 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 analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.