Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Reaches New 12-Month High at $483.94

Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $483.94 and last traded at $483.22, with a volume of 138408 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $479.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCO. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Moody's from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Moody's from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Moody's from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $456.00.

Moody's Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.86, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $446.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $410.29.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Moody's had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.30 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Moody's Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Moody's's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Insider Transactions at Moody's

In other Moody's news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Moody's news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody's

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Moody's by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,283,558 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,613,867,000 after purchasing an additional 119,450 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 12,049,611 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,706,096,000 after buying an additional 1,678,594 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Moody's by 8.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,918,257 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,228,382,000 after buying an additional 225,846 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Moody's by 133.9% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,277,056 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $958,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in Moody's by 1.2% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,980,021 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $833,450,000 after acquiring an additional 24,107 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.