Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Raised to $600.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $530.00 to $600.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.45% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $500.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $489.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.58.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE MCO traded down $4.32 on Monday, reaching $506.54. The stock had a trading volume of 113,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,613. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $460.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.32. Moody’s has a 12-month low of $402.28 and a 12-month high of $546.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a return on equity of 70.97% and a net margin of 31.69%.The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total value of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total transaction of $71,679.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Moody’s by 87.1% in the first quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 1,866.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

Moody’s Company Profile

Moody’s Corporation is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data and analytics that support financial decision-making and transparency in capital markets. The company traces its origins to the early 20th century when financial analyst John Moody began publishing credit information; today Moody’s is headquartered in New York and serves a broad set of market participants including investors, issuers, financial institutions, corporations, governments and regulators.

Moody’s operates primarily through two complementary businesses.