Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Moody's (NYSE:MCO) Stock Price

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $610.00 to $572.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the business services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target suggests a potential upside of 32.85% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Moody's from $481.00 to $531.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Moody's from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $524.33.

Moody's Price Performance

NYSE:MCO traded up $17.26 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $430.56. 1,095,472 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 775,683. Moody's has a one year low of $360.05 and a one year high of $531.93. The company has a market capitalization of $77.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $461.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $473.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Sell-side analysts predict that Moody's will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody's

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.42, for a total value of $138,932.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,601,631.48. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,392 shares of company stock worth $659,535 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody's

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Moody's by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,690,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its position in Moody's by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 741 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Moody's by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Moody's by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its position in Moody's by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by 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.