Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) PT Raised to $459.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price target raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $454.00 to $459.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential downside of 1.70% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $466.94 on Wednesday. Moody’s has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $495.10. The company has a market capitalization of $85.26 billion, a PE ratio of 50.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $478.15 and a 200-day moving average of $437.61.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Moody’s will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCO. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Moody’s by 114.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.