Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) Stock Has Average Price Target of $552.63 According to Analysts

Shares of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $552.63.

Several research firms have issued reports on MCO. Barclays boosted their price target on Moody’s from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Moody’s from $597.00 to $595.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Moody’s from $610.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $587.00 to $594.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $511.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $419,965.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,364 shares in the company, valued at $23,370,620. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 87.1% during 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. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1,866.7% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Stock Up 2.4%

MCO opened at $488.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Moody’s has a 1-year low of $402.28 and a 1-year high of $546.88. The company has a market capitalization of $84.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $477.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $467.84.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 84.76% and a net margin of 35.26%. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.92 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.11%.

About Moody’s

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a global provider of credit ratings, research, data, analytics and risk-management solutions. Through Moody’s Investors Service, the company assigns credit ratings and publishes research on corporate, government and structured-finance debt issuers, helping investors and other market participants evaluate credit risk.

Through Moody’s Analytics, the company provides financial intelligence, economic research, data, software and advisory services. Its offerings support credit analysis, lending, portfolio management, enterprise risk management, compliance and related functions across financial institutions, corporations, governments and other organizations.

Moody’s traces its origins to 1909, when John Moody established the company that introduced published credit ratings for bonds.