Barclays Cuts Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target to $520.00

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its target price cut by Barclays from $570.00 to $520.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MCO. Mizuho started coverage on Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $504.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Moody’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.43.

Moody’s Trading Down 9.2 %

Shares of MCO stock opened at $401.74 on Friday. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.65, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $482.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $478.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Research analysts expect that Moody’s will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,601,631.48. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,258 shares of company stock valued at $610,936. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Moody’s by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,690,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Carson Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Moody’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 22 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.