Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 1,144 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.84, for a total transaction of $318,992.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,850.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
NYSE:MCO opened at $277.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.49, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $274.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.01. Moody’s Co. has a 52 week low of $164.19 and a 52 week high of $305.95. The company has a market cap of $51.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.18.
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by ($0.06). Moody’s had a return on equity of 170.55% and a net margin of 34.31%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s Co. will post 10.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 24th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.02%.
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCO. NEXT Financial Group Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. JustInvest LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 39.0% during the 3rd quarter. JustInvest LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $201,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in Moody’s by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 12,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. increased its position in Moody’s by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. now owns 10,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.31% of the company’s stock.
MCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Moody’s from $300.00 to $292.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Monday, November 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Atlantic Securities raised shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 26th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “hold” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, December 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $299.73.
Moody’s Company Profile
Moody's Corporation provides credit ratings and assessment services; and credit, capital markets, and economic research, data, and analytical tools worldwide. It operates through two segments, Moody's Investors Service and Moody's Analytics. The Moody's Investors Service segment publishes credit ratings and provides assessment services on various debt obligations and entities that issue such obligations, such as various corporate and governmental obligations, structured finance securities, and commercial paper programs.
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