Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Stock Has Average Price Target of $552.63

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $552.63.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on Moody’s from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $490.00 to $511.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Moody’s from $550.00 to $537.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Moody’s from $597.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $493.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.35. Moody’s has a 12 month low of $402.28 and a 12 month high of $546.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $477.31 and its 200 day moving average is $467.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Moody’s will post 16.73 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 25.11%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Michael L. West sold 9,946 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.00, for a total transaction of $4,853,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 8,559 shares in the company, valued at $4,176,792. This trade represents a 53.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $484.30, for a total transaction of $710,468.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,166,165.20. This trade represents a 2.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,336 shares of company stock worth $5,984,081. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter worth approximately $287,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Moody’s by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,145,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares during the period. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, Associated Banc Corp acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,807,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.