Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $560.9375.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $524.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $590.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $574.00 target price on shares of Moody’s and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Moody’s from $580.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd.

Moody’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCO opened at $515.10 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $508.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $500.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $91.89 billion, a PE ratio of 41.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.45. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $378.71 and a fifty-two week high of $546.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.95, for a total transaction of $558,934.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 61,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,255,223.90. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 7,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,712,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. grew its position in Moody’s by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. DeDora Capital Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in Moody’s by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Moody’s by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 753 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.