Insider Selling: Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) SVP Sells 1,457 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Richard G. Steele, SVP of Moody's Corporation, sold 1,457 shares of the stock at an average price of $508.83 for a total of $741,365.31, resulting in a 51.25% decrease in his position.
• Moody's reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.56, exceeding analyst estimates, and their revenue grew 4.5% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94, representing a 0.73% annualized return, with a payout ratio of 31.95%.

Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.83, for a total value of $741,365.31. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $705,238.38. This trade represents a 51.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Moody's Trading Down 2.8%

MCO traded down $14.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $501.30. 1,115,724 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 807,604. The company's fifty day moving average price is $491.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $476.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. Moody's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.73 billion, a PE ratio of 42.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.38.

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

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 31.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MCO shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on Moody's from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Moody's from $525.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Moody's from $509.00 to $534.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Moody's from $552.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $538.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody's

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Moody's by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,715,000 after buying an additional 10,350 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,531 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,092,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 26,232 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,417,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Moody's by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 136,873 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,792,000 after buying an additional 26,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is 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.