Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on MCO. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an outperform rating and a $521.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Moody’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their price target for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $487.77.

Moody’s Stock Up 1.2 %

MCO opened at $475.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $86.76 billion, a PE ratio of 51.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s has a twelve month low of $298.86 and a twelve month high of $495.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $474.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $432.60. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Moody’s will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Conning Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 3.0% during 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 1.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 2.6% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 960 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Moody’s by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Moody’s by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.