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

Shares of Moody’s Co. (NYSE:MCO) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $507.36.

A number of brokerages have commented on MCO. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $540,051. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCO. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Moody’s by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 5,888 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,787,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the fourth quarter worth about $150,376,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,303,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody’s Price Performance

Moody’s stock opened at $502.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.89, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $482.89 and a 200-day moving average of $475.66. Moody’s has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $505.77.

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.