Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Price Target Increased to $512.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its target price boosted by Robert W. Baird from $490.00 to $512.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on MCO. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Moody’s in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Moody’s from $451.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.00.

Moody’s Trading Up 0.2 %

MCO stock opened at $468.86 on Wednesday. Moody’s has a 52 week low of $298.86 and a 52 week high of $495.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $478.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $437.61. The company has a market capitalization of $85.61 billion, a PE ratio of 51.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Insider Activity at Moody’s

In other news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total transaction of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,606.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,647.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock worth $1,332,825. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% during the third 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 bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. 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.