Morgan Stanley Raises Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target to $451.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $420.00 to $451.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $465.00.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE MCO opened at $475.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $86.82 billion, a PE ratio of 51.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s has a 1-year low of $298.86 and a 1-year high of $490.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $457.61 and a 200-day moving average of $416.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 11.35 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 in the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,766,000. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. purchased a new position in Moody’s in the second quarter worth about $2,893,000. New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 41.0% in the second quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,813 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,919,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 18.9% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 968 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Moody’s

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Services. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.