Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MCO. BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody’s from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Moody’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $477.08.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $476.96 on Friday. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $298.86 and a fifty-two week high of $490.18. The firm has a market cap of $86.85 billion, a PE ratio of 52.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $463.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $420.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.