Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) SVP Richard Steele Sells 158 Shares

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) SVP Richard Steele sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $900,534.95. This represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Moody’s Trading Down 2.3%

MCO opened at $453.39 on Wednesday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $402.28 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $445.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $471.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.35.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Moody’s Corporation will post 16.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 87.1% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1,866.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $531.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.29.

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.