Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Given New $570.00 Price Target at Barclays

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $500.00 to $570.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Moody’s to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $477.08.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $476.96 on Friday. Moody’s has a 12-month low of $298.86 and a 12-month high of $490.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $463.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $419.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $86.85 billion, a PE ratio of 52.07, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Moody’s will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,766,000. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the second quarter worth $2,893,000. New Century Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 41.0% in the second quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,813 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,919,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its position in Moody’s by 18.9% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 968 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.