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

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

MCO has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James cut shares of Moody's from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Moody's from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Moody's from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Moody's from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Moody's from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $500.00.

Moody's Stock Performance

Moody's stock traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $468.86. 694,540 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 743,383. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.61 billion, a PE ratio of 51.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. 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 has a one year low of $298.86 and a one year high of $495.10. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $478.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $437.61.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Moody's will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Moody's news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total transaction of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,619,386.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Moody's news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.26, for a total value of $252,783.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,147 shares in the company, valued at $3,619,386.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moody's

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCO. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in Moody's in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Moody's by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Moody's during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in Moody's by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Moody's in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. 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.

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