Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $462.00 to $481.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential downside of 1.64% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on MCO. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Moody’s from $490.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Moody’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $521.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James lowered Moody’s from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Moody’s from $455.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Moody’s from $460.00 to $514.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Moody’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $501.46.

Moody’s Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:MCO opened at $489.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $88.61 billion, a PE ratio of 44.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $460.14. Moody’s has a 12 month low of $360.05 and a 12 month high of $503.95.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.43 earnings per share. Moody’s’s revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Moody’s will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Moody’s news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of Moody’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.99, for a total value of $134,596.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,387,952.46. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Caroline Sullivan sold 1,681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.40, for a total transaction of $777,294.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $654,296. This trade represents a 54.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Moody’s

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in Moody’s by 566.7% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 60 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Moody’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Moody’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.