Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber Sells 415 Shares

Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.08, for a total transaction of $192,178.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,092,537.92. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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

• On Tuesday, February 18th, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.20, for a total value of $146,738.20.
• On Monday, February 3rd, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02.
• On Wednesday, January 15th, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22.
• On Thursday, January 2nd, Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody's stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66.

Moody's Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE MCO traded up $2.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $404.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 376,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 837,385. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $482.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $478.89. The company has a market capitalization of $72.76 billion, a PE ratio of 35.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $531.93.

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Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MCO shares. StockNews.com lowered Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Moody's from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $523.43.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody's

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Moody's by 101.9% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

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.