Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $510.00 to $540.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider's stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Moody's from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $528.77.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of MCO traded down $12.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $499.62. 1,348,207 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 754,611. Moody's has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $531.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.33, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $487.10 and a 200 day moving average of $480.70.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody's had a net margin of 29.03% and a return on equity of 58.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Moody's will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Moody's's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Moody's's payout ratio is currently 30.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In other Moody's news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,124 shares of company stock valued at $552,193 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Moody's

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $988,750,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 74,000.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 724,699 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $343,935,000 after buying an additional 723,721 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,581,036 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,123,294,000 after buying an additional 723,226 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Moody's by 92,060.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 612,865 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $290,112,000 after buying an additional 612,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Moody's by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,075,719 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $985,115,000 after buying an additional 502,891 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.