Caroline Sullivan Sells 1,681 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Stock

Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) 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 transaction of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Moody's Stock Performance

MCO stock traded down $1.64 on Tuesday, reaching $460.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 674,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 740,673. Moody's Co. has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week high of $495.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The company has a market capitalization of $84.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $477.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $439.49.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MCO. UBS Group lifted their price target on Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Moody's from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $500.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in Moody's in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Company Profile

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.

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