Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Moody’s from $362.00 to $350.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays upgraded Moody’s from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the company from $375.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Moody’s from $425.00 to $405.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $420.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $397.75.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $374.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.27. Moody’s has a one year low of $296.45 and a one year high of $407.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $384.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $368.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.14). Moody’s had a return on equity of 55.23% and a net margin of 27.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s will post 10.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 38.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Moody’s by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Moody’s by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.3% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 2,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.