Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO) Receives $528.77 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $528.77.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Moody's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody's

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,690,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co grew its position in Moody's by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 0.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Moody's by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $480.76. 298,387 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 782,587. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $490.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $482.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.31. Moody's has a 1-year low of $360.05 and a 1-year high of $531.93.

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

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a boost from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.36%.

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.