Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) SVP Richard Steele sold 375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.71, for a total value of $171,266.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 2,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,123,049.89. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.
Moody's Stock Up 0.9%
Shares of NYSE:MCO traded up $4.33 on Thursday, reaching $475.34. The company had a trading volume of 158,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,080. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.28 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Moody's Corporation has a 52-week low of $378.71 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $490.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $490.85.
Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 66.01% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.62 earnings per share. Moody's has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Moody's Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.12%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody's
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 363 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. boosted its position in Moody's by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 753 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of Moody's by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VestGen Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody's by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $550.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Moody's from $574.00 to $540.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Moody's from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $550.25.
View Our Latest Research Report on Moody's
About Moody's
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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