Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Insider Jason Phillips Sells 195 Shares of Company Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) insider Jason Phillips sold 195 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $509.23, for a total value of $99,299.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,481.62. The trade was a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $503.29 on Wednesday. Moody’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $477.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $467.33. The firm has a market cap of $86.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be given 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 is Friday, November 20th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 25.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $476,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Moody’s by 1.1% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,012 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 48.9% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 83,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,978,000 after purchasing an additional 27,364 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 4.4% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 22,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,421,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter valued at $449,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Moody’s to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $587.00 to $594.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $552.63.

About Moody’s

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.