Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) SVP Sells $171,266.25 in Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) SVP Richard Steele sold 375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,049.89. This trade represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MCO opened at $472.14 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $488.98 and its 200-day moving average is $490.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s Corporation has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $546.88.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 66.01%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 30.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,272,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,802,195,000 after acquiring an additional 102,682 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.6% in the second quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 13,246,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,644,552,000 after purchasing an additional 83,872 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,965,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,551,000 after purchasing an additional 42,966 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,574,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,291,568,000 after purchasing an additional 35,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,375,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,213,661,000 after purchasing an additional 111,725 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Moody’s from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Daiwa Securities Group raised Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.25.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.