Stifel Nicolaus Increases Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target to $459.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $454.00 to $459.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential downside of 1.70% from the company’s current price.

MCO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James downgraded Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $500.00.

Moody’s Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Moody’s stock opened at $466.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $85.26 billion, a PE ratio of 50.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s has a 1 year low of $298.86 and a 1 year high of $495.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $478.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $437.61.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 11.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Moody’s during the first quarter valued at about $2,967,000. Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the first quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 53,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,906,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Moody’s by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,035,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.