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

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $481.00 to $508.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 3.48% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Moody’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Moody’s from $468.00 to $481.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Moody’s from $495.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Moody’s from $543.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Moody’s from $454.00 to $459.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Moody’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.29.

Moody’s Price Performance

Shares of MCO opened at $526.34 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $484.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $478.15. The company has a market capitalization of $95.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.67. Moody’s has a fifty-two week low of $360.05 and a fifty-two week high of $528.09.

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.35. Moody’s had a return on equity of 57.97% and a net margin of 29.05%. Research analysts predict that Moody’s will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Moody’s

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.62, for a total transaction of $133,087.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,894 shares in the company, valued at $29,314,236.28. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 843 shares of company stock worth $405,455 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Moody’s by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 11.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 62,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,858,000 after acquiring an additional 6,340 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 32.5% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 14,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,777,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new position in Moody’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,775,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Moody’s by 567.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 80,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,338,000 after acquiring an additional 68,674 shares during the last quarter. 92.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.