Brokerages Set Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) PT at $500.00

Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $500.00.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCO. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,043 shares of company stock valued at $1,857,335. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Motco grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 9,756.3% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 52.2% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,844,000 after buying an additional 12,099 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 8.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 38,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,191,000 after buying an additional 3,169 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 68.1% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 52,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,673,000 after buying an additional 21,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,613,867,000 after buying an additional 119,450 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $462.20 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $475.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $443.05. Moody’s has a 1 year low of $329.72 and a 1 year high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 31.05%.

Moody’s Company Profile

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.