Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Raised to $540.00 at UBS Group

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $510.00 to $540.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

MCO has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Moody’s in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $528.77.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO stock opened at $518.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. Moody’s has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $531.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $485.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $479.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody’s will post 12.39 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 33.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 843 shares of company stock worth $405,455. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Moody’s by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.