Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Raised to $459.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price objective upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $454.00 to $459.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 2.06% from the stock’s current price.

MCO has been the topic of several other research reports. 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James lowered 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 nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.2 %

Moody’s stock traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $468.67. The stock had a trading volume of 254,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 741,235. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $298.86 and a fifty-two week high of $495.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $478.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $437.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.58 billion, a PE ratio of 51.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 11.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 in the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Conning Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 2.1% during the third 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 during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Moody’s by 1.8% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 2.6% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 960 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Moody’s by 0.5% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.