Morgan Stanley Increases Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target to $496.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $491.00 to $496.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential downside of 1.46% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also commented on MCO. Wall Street Zen lowered Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $565.00 price objective on shares of Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Moody’s from $524.00 to $521.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Moody’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $543.67.

Moody’s Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MCO traded up $4.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $503.34. The company had a trading volume of 94,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,201,197. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $452.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $466.06. Moody’s has a 52-week low of $402.28 and a 52-week high of $546.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market cap of $87.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.08, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.34.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.22 by $0.11. Moody’s had a net margin of 31.69% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Moody’s has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.400-17.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody’s will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.67, for a total value of $71,679.86. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $900,534.95. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 1,467 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.39, for a total transaction of $684,194.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,067,397.71. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,495,098. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Moody’s by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 58 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 period. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC purchased a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.