Moody's (NYSE:MCO) PT Raised to $451.00

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $420.00 to $451.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the business services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential downside of 6.79% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Moody's from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Moody's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their target price on Moody's from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Moody's from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody's from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $465.00.

Moody's Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Moody's stock traded down $0.64 during trading on Thursday, reaching $483.85. 521,357 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 729,012. Moody's has a 1 year low of $298.86 and a 1 year high of $490.18. The firm has a market cap of $88.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.28. 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's fifty day moving average is $455.23 and its 200 day moving average is $415.16.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Moody's will post 11.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Moody's news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,619,386.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody's

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Conning Inc. raised its stake in Moody's by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 778 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Moody's by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Moody's by 2.6% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 960 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Moody's by 0.7% in the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,871 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates grew its position in shares of Moody's by 0.4% during the second quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 7,325 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.11% of the company's stock.

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.