JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Stock Price

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $585.00 to $495.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the business services provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.56% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on MCO. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $510.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America began coverage on Moody's in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on Moody's in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Moody's in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $524.33.

Moody's Price Performance

MCO traded down $10.84 on Wednesday, reaching $414.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,215,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 774,403. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $463.77 and a 200-day moving average of $474.26. Moody's has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $531.93. The company has a market capitalization of $74.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody's will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total transaction of $138,932.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,392 shares of company stock valued at $659,535 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody's

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV increased its position in Moody's by 2.2% in the first quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV now owns 1,770 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Moody's by 177.0% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 784 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its stake in Moody's by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 57,050 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,568,000 after acquiring an additional 5,206 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Moody's by 16.6% during the first quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 702 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Moody's by 10.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,259 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. 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.