Robert Fauber Sells 5,213 Shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Stock

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) CEO Robert Fauber sold 5,213 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total transaction of $2,380,829.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,789 shares in the company, valued at $34,613,594.19. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Robert Fauber also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 3rd, Robert Fauber sold 575 shares of Moody’s stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.90, for a total transaction of $286,867.50.
• On Monday, February 2nd, Robert Fauber sold 592 shares of Moody’s stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.15, for a total transaction of $305,560.80.

Moody’s Stock Performance

MCO stock opened at $469.86 on Friday. Moody’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $546.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $83.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $489.95 and its 200-day moving average is $490.70.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. Moody’s had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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 forecast that Moody’s Corporation will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is 30.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Moody’s from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on Moody’s from $580.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Moody’s from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.25.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCO. AG Campbell Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $4,605,000. Employees Provident Fund Board bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $153,255,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 382.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth $1,756,000. Finally, Tobam boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 24,791.7% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 2,987 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.