Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price objective boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $481.00 to $531.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Moody’s from $459.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Moody’s from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $528.77.

Moody’s Price Performance

NYSE MCO opened at $511.27 on Tuesday. Moody’s has a twelve month low of $360.05 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.03 billion, a PE ratio of 45.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $480.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. This is a positive change from Moody’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Moody’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total value of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,314,236.28. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,124 shares of company stock worth $552,193. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 566.7% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 272.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Moody’s during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

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.