Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) PT Raised to $492.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price target hoisted by Oppenheimer from $454.00 to $492.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Moody’s from $350.00 to $374.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Moody’s from $374.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Finally, Barclays raised Moody’s from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $448.50.

Moody’s Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE MCO opened at $449.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $81.99 billion, a PE ratio of 49.02, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Moody’s has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $458.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $422.75 and a 200-day moving average of $399.14.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth $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 increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth $38,000. 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.