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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MCO. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $477.08.

Moody’s Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $484.84 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $464.04 and a 200-day moving average of $421.17. Moody’s has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $490.18. The stock has a market cap of $88.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Moody’s by 114.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.