Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) SVP Caroline Sullivan Sells 1,681 Shares

Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.4 %

MCO stock traded down $1.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $460.50. The stock had a trading volume of 674,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 740,673. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.51, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Moody’s Co. has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $495.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $477.89 and a 200 day moving average of $439.49.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MCO shares. Barclays upped their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

About Moody’s

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.