Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Lowered to "Hold" at StockNews.com

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Moody's from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Moody's from $420.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Moody's from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Moody's from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $477.08.

Moody's Stock Performance

Shares of MCO traded down $3.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $471.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,123,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 738,387. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.46, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.29. Moody's has a 52-week low of $298.86 and a 52-week high of $495.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $471.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $428.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Moody's had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. The business's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Moody's will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,647.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 in the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody's

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCO. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 392.6% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 24,668 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,634,000 after acquiring an additional 19,660 shares during the period. Motco grew its stake in shares of Moody's by 9,756.3% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 1,561 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody's during the 1st quarter worth $2,967,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,264 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,844,000 after buying an additional 12,099 shares during the period. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody's in the first quarter valued at $2,893,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.