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Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Moody's logo with Finance background

Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $466.97 and traded as high as $476.95. Moody's shares last traded at $473.37, with a volume of 297,211 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MCO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Moody's from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Moody's from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.00.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Moody's

Moody's Trading Down 0.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $85.77 billion, a PE ratio of 43.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.02.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.43 EPS. Moody's's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Moody's Co. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total value 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 approximately $654,296. This represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Moody's by 74,000.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $343,935,000 after acquiring an additional 723,721 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Moody's by 12.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,123,294,000 after purchasing an additional 723,226 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Moody's by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $985,115,000 after purchasing an additional 502,891 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,333,263 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,107,344,000 after purchasing an additional 430,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Moody's by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,612,172 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,708,851,000 after buying an additional 416,535 shares in the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Moody's

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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