BMO Capital Markets Increases Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target to $464.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its target price raised by BMO Capital Markets from $455.00 to $464.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Moody’s from $492.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Moody’s from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $488.46.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $488.46 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $477.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $435.57. Moody’s has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $495.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.33, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 in the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Conning Inc. raised its position in Moody’s by 3.0% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Moody’s by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 960 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Moody’s by 0.5% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,375,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in 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.