Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $506.14.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCO. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

Moody's Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:MCO traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $452.80. 106,797 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 548,980. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.35, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30. Moody's has a 52 week low of $360.05 and a 52 week high of $503.95. The firm's 50 day moving average is $479.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $469.73.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.43 EPS. Moody's's revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Moody's will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Moody's's payout ratio is 31.05%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.86, for a total transaction of $133,435.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,390,984.84. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,243 shares of company stock worth $1,045,326 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody's

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Moody's by 566.7% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 272.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in Moody's by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Moody's by 101.9% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 109 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 55 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.