Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $501.46.

MCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $470.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.93, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $479.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $462.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67. Moody’s has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $503.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The business’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.05%.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total transaction of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. This trade represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Moody’s by 566.7% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in Moody’s by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.