Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Raised to $481.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its target price hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $468.00 to $481.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would suggest a potential downside of 0.23% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.36.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Moody’s stock traded up $6.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $482.13. 86,050 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 572,498. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $480.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $471.73. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $503.95. The firm has a market cap of $87.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.02, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 12.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total value of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,390,984.84. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,296. The trade was a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,524 shares of company stock worth $1,178,413. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $753,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 230.7% in the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 4,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,237,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 746 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.