Citigroup Begins Coverage on Moody’s (NYSE:MCO)

Stock analysts at Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 21.15% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Moody’s from $462.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.00.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $466.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $479.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $463.13. The stock has a market cap of $84.50 billion, a PE ratio of 42.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30. Moody’s has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $503.95. 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 (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 74,000.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,935,000 after acquiring an additional 723,721 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Moody’s by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Moody’s by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $985,115,000 after purchasing an additional 502,891 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Moody’s by 22.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,107,344,000 after purchasing an additional 430,878 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 13.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,708,851,000 after buying an additional 416,535 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.