Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) SVP Richard Steele Sells 375 Shares

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) SVP Richard Steele sold 375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE MCO traded up $4.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $475.34. 158,744 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,342,080. Moody’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $378.71 and a 52 week high of $546.88. 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 50-day moving average price of $490.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $490.85. The stock has a market cap of $84.28 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MCO. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.25.

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.