Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Moody’s from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Moody’s from $536.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $430.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned 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 Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MCO opened at $462.41 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a market capitalization of $84.44 billion, a PE ratio of 50.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.29. Moody’s has a 12-month low of $298.86 and a 12-month high of $495.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $478.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $437.82.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.89 by $0.32. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.03% and a net margin of 28.34%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Moody’s will post 11.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Moody’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Moody’s’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total value of $848,010.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares in the company, valued at $473,647.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Stephen T. Tulenko sold 500 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,606.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard G. Steele sold 1,862 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.43, for a total transaction of $848,010.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,647.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,931 shares of company stock valued at $1,332,825. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Moody’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its holdings in Moody’s by 5.2% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in Moody’s by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,277,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. increased its holdings in Moody’s by 79.2% in the 3rd quarter. Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. now owns 4,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,980 shares in the last quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Moody’s during the third quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 1.7% during the third quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.11% of the company’s stock.

About Moody’s

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.