Moody's (NYSE:MCO) CEO Sells $103,199.85 in Stock

Key Points

• CEO Michael West sold 195 Moody’s shares for about $103,200, reducing his stake by 2.33%; he retained 8,179 shares.
• Moody’s quarterly results came in below analyst expectations, with EPS of $4.14 versus $4.25 forecast and revenue of $2.02 billion versus $2.08 billion expected. Revenue was up 0.8% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $552.63; Moody’s also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share.

Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) CEO Michael West sold 195 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.23, for a total value of $103,199.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 8,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,328,572.17. This trade represents a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded down $13.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $514.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,176,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,056,689. Moody's Corporation has a one year low of $402.28 and a one year high of $546.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50-day moving average is $477.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $467.27.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The company's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's Corporation will post 16.73 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 0.8%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody's

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 72,043 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.4% in the second 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 valued at $643,191,000 after purchasing an additional 33,024 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 72.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,081,807 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $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% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,011,495 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $458,126,000 after purchasing an additional 168,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 7.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 882,973 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $385,188,000 after purchasing an additional 59,121 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Moody's from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Moody's from $557.00 to $593.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $557.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Moody's from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Moody's from $521.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.

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