Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Given New $508.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $481.00 to $508.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider's stock.

MCO has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com raised Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Moody's from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Moody's in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued 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 a consensus price target of $528.77.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded down $4.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $518.66. 1,015,962 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 735,294. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $485.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $479.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.98 billion, a PE ratio of 47.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. Moody's has a 52-week low of $360.05 and a 52-week high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.67.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody's had a net margin of 29.05% and a return on equity of 57.97%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Moody's will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 0.72%. Moody's's payout ratio is 33.36%.

Insider Activity at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 843 shares of company stock valued at $405,455 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody's

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Carson Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Moody's by 2.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co increased its position in Moody's by 1.8% during the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,223 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 22 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.