Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Raised to $514.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price objective raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $460.00 to $514.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

MCO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Moody’s to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $465.00.

Moody’s Price Performance

MCO stock opened at $483.85 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. Moody’s has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $490.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $456.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $415.63. The company has a market capitalization of $88.35 billion, a PE ratio of 52.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.28.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Moody’s will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’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 owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’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 owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter valued at $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $35,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.