Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Downgraded by Raymond James to Underperform

Raymond James downgraded shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

MCO has been the topic of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Moody’s from $443.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Moody’s from $454.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Moody’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $482.00 to $455.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Moody’s to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $477.08.

Moody’s Stock Down 0.7 %

MCO stock opened at $476.15 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $469.02 and a 200-day moving average of $425.36. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $298.86 and a fifty-two week high of $495.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $3.28 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Moody’s had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 57.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Moody’s will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Moody’s’s payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Moody’s news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of Moody’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 approximately $473,647.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.06, for a total value of $232,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,647 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,606.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Moody’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Moody’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Moody’s by 114.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Moody’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. 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.