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

Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $501.46.

MCO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Moody's from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Moody's from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Moody's from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of Moody's 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody's

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Planning Capital Management Corp grew its position in Moody's by 566.7% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 272.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Moody's during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 83.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Moody's Trading Down 1.7 %

MCO stock traded down $8.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $462.09. The company had a trading volume of 828,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 725,815. The stock has a market cap of $83.73 billion, a PE ratio of 42.20, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Moody's has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $503.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $479.59 and a 200-day moving average of $462.29.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody's had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Moody's will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.05%.

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.