Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) PT Raised to $475.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $450.00 to $475.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on Moody’s from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Moody’s from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Moody’s from $405.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody’s currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $448.50.

Moody’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $449.00 on Wednesday. Moody’s has a 12 month low of $298.86 and a 12 month high of $458.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $422.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $399.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market cap of $81.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.28.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. Moody’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.30 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCO. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Moody’s by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its holdings in Moody’s by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 2,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Moody’s by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Moody’s in the fourth quarter worth $245,000. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its position in shares of Moody’s by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.