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

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) insider Jason Phillips sold 195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $509.23, for a total value of $99,299.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,481.62. This represents a 9.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Moody’s Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE MCO opened at $528.11 on Thursday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $477.50 and its 200 day moving average is $467.27. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody’s had a net margin of 35.26% and a return on equity of 84.76%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.11%.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,349,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,024,874,000 after buying an additional 72,043 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $643,191,000 after purchasing an additional 33,024 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 72.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,963,000 after purchasing an additional 454,684 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 20.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,011,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,126,000 after buying an additional 168,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,188,000 after buying an additional 59,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore upped their price target on Moody’s from $570.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.