Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $499.12, but opened at $484.29. Moody's shares last traded at $499.68, with a volume of 115,523 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MCO. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $573.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $520.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $536.93.

Moody's Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $92.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.38. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $488.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $475.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.17. Moody's had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 60.73%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.40, for a total value of $208,911.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 61,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,153,412.40. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in Moody's by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $34,715,000 after acquiring an additional 10,350 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Moody's by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 113,273 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,620,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Moody's by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,766 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Moody's by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 111,211 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $52,644,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Moody's by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 253,886 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $121,649,000 after purchasing an additional 20,463 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.